Israel Emergency Fund Allocations Updates

Week of Dec 18, 2024

JFNA Israel Emergency Response Committee

JFNA’s Israel emergency allocation decisions are made by Jewish Federations’ Israel Emergency Response Committee, which meets regularly to discuss ongoing needs and review allocation proposals.  

The Committee is co-chaired by Jeffrey Schoenfeld, immediate past Chair of the Jewish Federation of North America Israel and Overseas Committee and former President of the Board of UJA-Federation of NY, and Stephen Hoffman, Chairman of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, President Emeritus of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, and former President and CEO of United Jewish Communities (now Jewish Federations of North America).  

Recent JFNA Israel Emergency Response Committee - 12/18/2024

JFNA Committee Allocations To Date By Needs

*includes $15M multi-year gift collectively allocated

In a crisis, fundamental needs require immediate attention—giving people time to breathe and process the tragedy. We took swift action to address these pressing needs. These lifeline services included food, clothing, financial assistance, and medicines as well as spiritual care such as assistance with funerals and shiva, practical housing solutions, and educational support to evacuated children.

Addressing the physical, psychological, and emotional wellbeing of affected Israelis is crucial to their recovery. We have supplied hospitals with medical equipment and capacity. We also responded with a proactive approach to mental health and trauma relief including dedicated hotlines, training for caregivers and responders, and ongoing support to emergency teams. We ensured direct care to individuals in need, including first responders, lone soldiers, and families and caregivers coping with the loss, injury, or abduction of their relatives.

When the attacks forced thousands from their homes, it prompted the closure of businesses nationwide. Families also grapple with income loss as reserve soldiers answer the call to duty. Many face an uncertain path to recovery. We are at the forefront of economic relief efforts, having invested in frontline communities and in a significant loan fund for small and medium-size businesses struggling to stay afloat. Our investments in economic relief are designed to create a resilient and flourishing Israeli economy.          

In the months and years ahead, we will help enable people to return to their homes and rebuild their communities. We aim to bolster societal resilience, so that despite the events of October 7, we make possible the growth and potential of this generation of Israelis. Our giving will enable substantial investments towards rebuilding and strengthening Israeli society.

Support for communities under fire and for new olim (immigrants) living in absorption centers through evacuations, temporary housing, children’s activities, and increased security.      

JFNA Committee Allocations To Date by Organization

Description of Organizations & Impact

Abraham’s Tent

The proposed funding would support a guided, 3-day seminar to bring together the "invisible circle" of bereaved friends of victims of October 7. The program leverages the collaborative strengths of Gvanim's expertise in peer support groups, grief counseling, and creative expression workshops and Abraham Group's welcoming spaces.

Access Israel

Access Israel is a well-respected Israeli NGO dedicated to promoting accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities and the elderly in Israel and around the world. They are offering ongoing specialized housing solutions for disabled evacuees/self-evacuees from both southern and northern Israel. Requests from the south are diminishing, but requests from the north are increasing. In addition, Access Israel will train volunteers and local authority professionals on how to deal with people with disabilities in emergencies.

Unity in Action (Achim L’Oref)

Unity in Action is an initiative that was created after October 7 to leverage the network and expertise within Israel’s Haredi community to address urgent needs including socio-economic and security solutions not currently addressed. By harnessing volunteers and infrastructure, Unity in Action creates new channels and resources helping to bridge the gap between different sectors of Israeli society.

Adi Negev Rehabilitation Center

Adi Negev is a rehabilitation village for special needs children and adults near Ofakim. The village hosts The Harvey and Gloria Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center, opened in 2022, which is implementing innovative techniques and advanced services to help patients successfully reintegrate into their communities. Jewish Federations support will help ADI Negev complete its third inpatient ward through the purchase of essential rehabilitation equipment.  

Ad'ar – The Professional Forum to Fight the Murder of Women  

Ad'ar's mission is to contribute to the elimination of femicide within Arab society in Israel. It works with the victims of gender-based violence and relevant professionals to develop effective risk-assessment tools to prevent femicides in their communities. During the war, Ad'ar has activated a phone hotline, facilitated groups of social workers in the Negev, Galilee, and Haifa, and is producing and distributing a booklet in Arabic and Hebrew for therapists to use during wartime with a focus on gender-based violence prevention.  In addition, Ad’ar is facilitating workshops forArab towns/villages in to strengthen the social, mental, and professional resilience of the therapists and social workers during the war and helping them build a comprehensive plan in their local communities in order to provide both emotional and practical support for them during this harsh time. Also, they will train Arab- Israeli social work students in innovative emergency preparation qualification.

Aharai

Aharai is an NGO with a mission to nurture youth leadership development and promote civic participation among teens and young adults in Israel, especially in marginalized communities in the social and geographic periphery. The organization was founded in 1997 during the period of turmoil following the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Aharai serves thousands of Israeli teens across the country through programs that focus on preparation for military enlistment and matriculation. They also have gap year programs and alumni programs, including soldiers in active duty and reserves. A recent report found that more than 1 in 5 active-duty combat soldiers in the IDF are Aharai graduates. With Jewish Federations support, Aharai will continue to empower teens leading up to their high school graduation and enlistment, including a special program for participants from Haredi backgrounds.

AJEEC-NISPED              

AJEEC-NISPED is an Arab/Jewish NGO dedicated to social change in the Negev. The organization consists of a team of Arabs and Jews working together to create a shared society. Jewish Federations will support the activities of the organization’s emergency situation rooms and its emergency program to prevent the spread of fake news within the Bedouin community. AJEEC-NISPED will also be cooperating with the Regional Council for Unrecognized Arab Villages in the Negev to provide food assistance and emergency social work care.        

Ajyal Dreams and Fulfillment

Ajyal is a youth organization and movement affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair Israel. The Young Community Leadership in the Arab Society program intends to empower young leadership in the Arab society in Israel - to promote equal opportunity and positive leadership in communities, as well as bring together Arab and Jewish groups of young leaders to build trust and cooperation and to decrease alienation and hostility. The program has two components: The first is strengthening the already existing leadership institutes, where 18–20-year-old participants from the Arab society are trained to become positive leaders of community in their adult life. During the war there was an increase in demand for this program, especially in the Bedouin community in the south. The second is to create leadership groups of young adults in Arab communities across the country. These local action groups, made up of alumni of the leadership programs, will lead local initiatives to combat issues of violence, poverty, inequality, at-risk youth, and promote better Arab-Jewish relations through creating collaborations with near-by Jewish municipalities. The local young adult groups are based on the successful experience of Ajyal in their work in Rahat during the October 7th events and war. Strengthening these young adults’ activism and promoting their engagement with Israeli society builds resiliency, lowers tensions and promotes shared society.

AKIM Israel

AKIM Israel acts to realize the rights, promote a better quality of life, and improve the welfare of around 35,000 people with intellectual disabilities and approximately 140,000 family members and legal guardians. The organization operates nationwide and is managed by parents and volunteers in the Jewish and Arab sectors. Since October 7, the organization has been working to assist residents of protected housing who require help with evacuation from Ashkelon, Netivot, and Sderot. It has provided essential equipment to families with special needs, established a digital training program, supported individuals with special needs to preserve their employment routine, and provided enrichment and therapy programs.

Al-Baqour – Association for Early Childhood Development in the Arab Society of the Negev

Al-Baqour was founded by experts in the early childhood field from the Arab and Jewish society in the Negev to promote action and public discourse on the importance of early childhood intervention. Negev Bedouin were significantly affected by the heavy rocket fire and suffered casualties in the October 7th attack. Al-Baqour is training mothers using Zoom on how to deal with an emergency, how to talk to the children about the situation around them, and how to run educational activities for children who cannot attend their normal school frameworks. It is also running Zoom activities as well as special online activities for children on the autism spectrum, among other activities.

ALEH

ALEH strives to empower individuals with disabilities to overcome barriers and achieve success by providing them with the tools and professional support they need to thrive. ALEH is equipping protected spaces with essential life-supporting equipment so that the children can continue to receive rehabilitative care and life-saving treatments during the war. This includes resources such as nutritional supplies, oxygen generators, etc.

ALYN Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation Center

ALYN Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation Center provides treatment for children facing physical challenges, both congenital and acquired, enabling them to function to the best of their ability and integrate into their family life within the framework of a supportive community. Jewish Federations will help ALYN to relocate their day program for severely disabled children to a protected space, to expand their remote therapy options, and to provide the facility with emergency equipment.

Aminadav

Aminadav has been active for over 30 years, and it operates alternate volunteering frameworks for young men and women who are exempt from military service in the Israel Defense Forces. Since the second day of the war Aminadav assigned its volunteers to 28 hotels to provide immediate assistance to children evacuees, providing educational services on an individual and group basis during school hours, and social and recreational activities in the afternoons. With the help of Jewish Federations, they will continue their volunteer work with evacuees and others affected by the war.

AMEN – The Land Where Women Heal

AMEN, which stands for Admat Marpeh Nashit "feminine healing ground," is a center for healing, celebration, and leadership and part of the Ohela Association. Early after the events of October 7, AMEN set up women's clinics in the Dead Sea and Eilat evacuation areas and have been treating 60 patients on average per day in each space. The holistic approach of AMEN complements the conventional approaches provided by government agencies. Jewish Federations funding will help AMEN continue to operate their treatment centers for evacuees for an additional month.

Amutat 51

Amutat51 was established nearly a decade ago with the aim of creating quality employment opportunities for women in Israel’s social and geographic periphery, strengthening their economic security and that of their families.  For the past four years, the organization has worked primarily in Ofakim and Sderot – training and placing over 100 women and men from the Gaza Envelope in both Israeli and international companies.  In total, over 400 people from the periphery have been successfully helped into quality positions.  The organization was approached by Kibbutz Sa’ad and the Eshkol Regional to collaborate on a new initiative that aims to help 710 residents of the Western Negev return to the workforce.

Appleseeds

Appleseeds was established to meet the challenge of digital gaps in Israeli society and make technology a catalyst for social change, improved employment, and integration between Jews and Arabs, peripheral and central areas, and other divisions. In response to the emergency, Appleseeds is utilizing their established approach to provide digital services for victims of terrorism, programming for their youth movement Net@, and for people throughout Israel who struggle with a low level of digital literacy.  

Arad Community Centers

Arad is a town of 25,000 located in the Eastern Negev and is now hosting over 2,000 evacuees and self-evacuees, primarily from Sderot. It was not included in the original local authorities block grant allocations. The municipality, through its community centers will run art therapy and animal therapy programs for the evacuees and local children affected by the conflict.

Arim Roshi

Arim Roshi‘s mission is to provide support to women who suffer from PTSD as a result of their military service. As female soldiers increasingly fill combat and combat-support roles, there has been an increase in the number of female soldiers struggling with traumatic events.  To date, the Ministry of Defense has recognized 560 women with combat PTSD. It is assumed that there are many more who have not yet sought recognition for multiple reasons. Arim Roshi is the only nonprofit in Israel dedicated to treating women with combat PTSD and addressing their unique needs.

Association for Ethiopian Jews (AEJ)

AEJ, established in 1993, is a veteran Ethiopian Israeli-led organization, advocating on social and policy issues, racial equality, civil and human rights, improved perceptions, and better policies to ensure optimal inclusion and quality of life for Ethiopian Israelis. AEJ is a watchdog NGO that collaborates with diverse stakeholders to keep the government accountable and promote policies that result in advancement and inclusion of Ethiopian Israelis. With the support of Federations, AEJ will be expanding their role as a coordinating NGO in the field, ensuring that needs are being met and that affected Ethiopian Israelis are able to access their full government-granted rights.

Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel

The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) is an umbrella organization for nine regional Rape Crisis Centers (RCCs) whose main aim is to combat sexual violence. The RCCs work at the individual and regional levels providing services and support for individual victims of sexual violence and working to raise awareness in their local communities. ARCCI will train professionals with war-trauma-informed therapy and tools, provide direct assistance to survivors, support groups for survivors and witnesses, and ensure evacuee hotels are as safe as possible.

Association for the Wellbeing of Israeli Soldiers ​          

The Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers is a leading organization conducting activities for soldiers. The Association’s Emergency Relief Fund will support IDF soldiers in the hours, days, and weeks ahead. This fund enables the purchase of essentials for front-line soldiers, including vital personal gear and clothing (non-tactical) and basic physical hygiene supplies.

ATIDIM

ATIDIM, which means Futures, is a national program developing human resources and closing the socioeconomic gaps crippling Israel’s periphery, by creating equal educational opportunities. It is a comprehensive, compelling program that identifies talented young people from Israel’s underprivileged areas and gives them the chance to get on track to higher education. ATIDIM’s Educational Resilience Program for Traumatized Teens will be a one-stop-shop for preparation for the future, comprising both digital and physical programs to provide informal education, enrichment, and wellbeing activities. The pilot will begin with 500 teens evacuated from northern communities living in hotels in Tiberias.

Atid L’Otef

This program will train leaders and agents of change from among the residents of the Gaza Envelope and the Western Negev to provide a knowledge base for developing regional leadership, foster a common language and way of thinking, as well as imparting the skills and abilities that are so crucial for the future generation of the region's leaders. It also intends to establish a regional network of leaders from all sectors in the area to promote trust and cooperation among all residents. Atid L’Otef is supported by Sapir College, Maoz, and the Forum of Generals.

Aviv for Holocaust Survivors

Aviv for Holocaust Survivors is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, professional assistance to Holocaust survivors and elderly in need in Israel, enabling them to live their remaining years with dignity and well-being. Aviv will deploy a specialized team to provide on-the-ground support in northern Israel to support those 65+ access their benefits and right, including with rights procurement, case management, and coordination with social organizations to meet immediate bureaucracy needs.

Ayalim

Ayalim is a Zionist movement, founded in 2002 in light of David Ben-Gurion's vision, wishing to change the balance between the country's center and its periphery. Since the start of the war, and with the support of the Jewish Federations, the student villages in Ashalim, Dimona, and Yerucham have opened their homes and their hearts to the residents of the Gaza envelope. The students' volunteers are hosting them in the village's apartments, as well as takin care of their every need, including purchasing equipment, clothing, food, etc.

Be-Atzmi

Be-Atzmi is a veteran Israeli NGO, working for over 28 years to narrow social gaps in Israel through employment advancement of underprivileged populations with limited employment opportunities. The Employment Shield program is to help evacuees based in Haifa to build and increase employment resilience and maintain employment continuity, while also improving their immediate financial situation and reclaiming a sense of control over their lives.

Beit Issie Shapiro            

Beit Issie Shapiro is a pioneering Israeli leader and innovator in the field of disabilities, developing and providing life-changing services, and exporting best practices for a more inclusive society around the globe. Beit Issie Shapiro is providing therapy, respite, emotional support, and coping tools to people with disabilities in their facilities and across Israel.

BINA

Bina is providing support to southern communities utilizing Jewish texts, traditions and Zionist values to help them process events of war and reshape the community’s narrative to bolster community resilience.

Birthright Israel              

Birthright Israel’s mission is to provide all young Jewish adults with opportunities for transformative and immersive shared experiences in Israel and a foundation for ongoing Jewish connection. Birthright Israel is using its extensive logistical infrastructure and contracts with hotels to host evacuees from the conflict zones.

Bizi

Bizi https://www.bizi.co.il/ is an approximately two-year-old entity in Israel, but it is affiliated with the longer-standing BlueVine lending platform in the United States https://www.bluevine.com/. Bizi is also backed by Phoenix, one of the largest insurance companies in Israel. Bizi has quickly established a highly automated and efficient credit provision company serving small and medium sized businesses throughout Israel. In the face of the current situation, Bizi is committing to a non-profit line of lending to smaller businesses impacted by the attack and war, and they will utilize their commercial technology to quickly process and scale such loans.

Bnai Zion Medical Center

Bnai Zion Medical Center in Haifa is a 450-bed municipal public general hospital which hosts a physical rehabilitation department serving the Haifa and northern regions of Israel. Jewish Federations support will help Bnai Zion purchase essential rehabilitation equipment to meet the heightened demand for rehabilitation services from wounded soldiers and civilians.

Bnei Akiva Yeshivot and Ulpanot Center

Bnei Akiva is the largest worldwide Religious Zionist youth movement, established in 1929. It has around 70,000 youth participants in Israel in local branches across the country, including evacuated locations in the north and south. Bnei Akiva has worked since the beginning of the war to support its affected youth, and Jewish Federations support would enable the movement to continue that work through specialized programming and recreational activities, volunteering initiatives, participation subsidies for affected families, and organizational capacity to effectively reach youth who are evacuated or recently returned home.

Branco Weiss

Branco Weiss is a major Israeli educational organization that operates a variety of initiatives throughout Israel to bridge social and academic gaps in the periphery, enable social mobility, promote educational excellence for all and promote an inclusive pluralistic society. Jewish Federations are providing specific support to assist the Gaza Envelope, consulting to regional councils and local authorities in southern Israel, and assistance with the evacuee educational systems of Kiryat Shmona and other northern evacuee communities in Tiberius and Tel Aviv.

Brothers for Life

Brothers for Life (BFL) is a non profit organization created and run by injured Israeli veterans to give critical and immediate help, as well as mentorship and long-term support, to newly injured soldiers. With over 250 Brothers for Life members and their families living in the South of Israel, the NGO is planning to open a Southern BFL campus to service their needs. This campus will provide injured veterans with medical treatments and rehabilitation services, PSTD counseling and workshops, education and vocational training, and soldier-to-soldier mentoring programs to support local community residents overcoming the injury and trauma of October 7.

Brothers and Sisters for Israel                     

Brothers and Sisters of Israel is the largest civilian aid organization operating in Israel, entirely powered by volunteers who are former IDF soldiers, ensuring that 100% of funds go directly toward acquiring essential resources and supplies. Their leading efforts include humanitarian support, meals, clothing, and evacuation for those in war zones, accommodation for the displaced, and nationwide logistics centers.

Bshvil HaMachar

For the past 15 years, Bishvil Hamachar has been helping released soldiers to overcome combat-related trauma. The program includes guided experiences in nature, support-group activities, and ongoing personal support, as needed. Jewish Federations support will allow the organization to provide these important experiences to their waiting list of men and women who were involved in combat environments during the war and mitigate future cases of PTSD.

Campus Resilience Initiative

Edmond de Rothschild Foundation (IL), together with the National Student Union, is leading a process of establishing resilience centers in several academic institutions, while adapting and integrating the “resilience center” model to the academic space. The goal is to assist the institutions to build their resilience and provide a solution to both immediate wartime challenges and to future challenges, while integrating all available institutional resources and responses, and creating a structured work plan for operating in emergency and during the return to normalcy.

Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI)

The Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI) was established in 1998 by JDC Israel. CIMI strives to apply international standards in addressing a wide range of areas of migration relevant to the Israeli state and society. CIMI is engaged in the development of systemic and individual responses while protecting the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers and maintaining international obligations. CIMI is providing emergency aid and resilience-building activities for migrant workers and asylum seekers from African and Ukrainian origins.

Center for Media and Democracy

The Center for Media and Democracy in Israel is an independent, nonprofit news organization established to strengthen Israeli democracy through investigative journalism. The Center has established an Emergency Resilience Fund to cover trauma treatments for journalists who covered the horrific October 7th events (and whose care is not covered by their employer).

Chesed Chaim V'Emet

Chesed Chaim V'Emet helps bereaved families cope with loss and bereavement. It was established by an IDF officer who decided to copy the IDF's program of assistance for bereaved families to the civilian sector. Since the start of the war, the organization has accompanied over 650 families by conducting home visits, providing equipment for holding the “shiva” mourning period and providing counseling.

Chimes Israel

Chimes Israel’s missions is to do the maximum to improve the quality of life of people with special needs from every community, through providing cutting edge professional services delivered by a well-trained and supervised, caring staff. With Federations’ support Chimes Israel will conduct home visits by professionals to provide for material, emotional, therapeutic, and developmental support to people with special needs, primarily in southern Israel.

Closing Ranks

Closing ranks focuses on providing personal mentoring and guidance to young adults aged 20-30 from the social, economic, and geographical periphery, who lack any family support. This enables them to transition to independent adult life after completing their military service. Their personal mentoring process aims to create social mobility for young adults within a meaningful relationship of trust with an attentive and enabling mentor. The program will support a pilot project for expansion of their model to help young adults from the south impacted by the war for a period of one year.

Cochav HaTzafon

The Cochav Hatzafon Association develops and operates a continuum of comprehensive quality services (treatment and rehabilitation, housing, employment, social and leisure) for around 1,000 disabled people of all ages and backgrounds who live in the northern periphery of Israel – everywhere from Akko to the northern Golan Heights. The organization is facing an acute lack of staffing due to the war since many of their professionals were evacuated from the region. They are filling the service gaps with freelancers and supplementing programming to address the tension and fears created by the war in northern Israel and are preparing to operate in this format for at least three more months. This request will impact around 200 beneficiaries.

Community Stress Prevention Centre (CSPC) – Mashabim

The Community Stress Prevention Centre (CSPC) – Mashabim deals with the treatment and prevention of psycho-trauma. It promotes stress and crisis management and provides both multidisciplinary treatment and support to victims of psycho-trauma due to terror and war. Mashabim operates the resilience centers in northern Israel and has expanded their operations to provide services to the evacuated and non-evacuated populations in the north. This allocation will allow Mashabim to provide services to strengthen the resilience of evacuees in their hotels or other temporary accommodation. It will also provide the organization with a capacity grant to support the rapid organizational growth that has been required to provide services to all those in need.

Northern Resilience Program:

Funding also supports expanding emotional support and resources for mental health professionals and integrating advanced technology for improved patient monitoring and emergency services, the program will enhance practitioners' resilience and overall mental healthcare.

Connections 20-80

‘Hiburim 20-80’ focuses on combating loneliness among older adults and Holocaust survivors. The organization has successfully established an intergenerational community, connecting seniors with empathetic young volunteers through a designated call center and a unique digital application. 20-80 is using its 300 volunteers and call-center to support elderly residents of southern Israel, including those who did not evacuate and those who have returned to their homes.

Counseling Center for Women

The Counseling Center for Women is dedicated to promoting individual, social, and economic gender equality through its psychotherapy center providing more than 10,000 therapy hours for women each year, especially women-at-risk, survivors of abuse and violence, and those struggling with depression, anxiety, or other illnesses. The Center is providing private and group psychotherapy from a gender-sensitive perspective for women suffering from trauma and post-trauma because of the war.  

COYO - Israeli Council for Youth Organizations

The Israeli Council for Youth Organizations "COYO" is an umbrella organization established in 2013 to serve as an official representative body for youth organizations in Israel (21 members) and works with government authorities, national institutions, and strategic partners. COYO also provides consulting and guidance to its member organizations and promotes collaborations. COYO has a mission to allow every young person in Israel to have the opportunity to participate in significant values-based informal educational activities. Jewish Federations support would enable COYO to provide member organizations with expertise, mentoring, and training relevant to the challenges youth in Israel are facing since October 7 and to convene the field of organizations to share learnings and encourage collaboration.

The latest program is to train 5,400 youths from grades 9 to 11 to build resilience and develop emergency skills such as first aid. These youth will be ready to assist residents in their local areas.

Daroma Tzafona

The DaromaTzafona Fund https://www.daroma-tzafona.org.il/homepage-en/, leveraging its long history of lending to small manufacturing businesses in Israel, is standing up a broader loan fund for small businesses, initially concentrated near the

affected areas in the South and North. Daroma Tzafona has been in existence for 16 years and has a pre-existing relationship with Mizrahi Tefahot bank.

Deborah Institute: Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children

Planning grant for the development of an NGO dedicated to the creation of an independent, unaffiliated, non-governmental Commission aims to gather and disseminate authentic information, advocate, provide expert advice, and initiate actions related to the collection of evidence and testimonies on sexual and other war crimes committed by Hamas.

Dror Israel        

Dror Israel represents the youth movement Ha'noar Ha'oved Ve'ha'lomed, a labor Zionist movement established in 1924. The movement reaches almost 100,000 youth participants in kibbutzim, moshavim, cities, and Arab and Druze localities across Israel. Dror is dedicated to educating for a just and equal society by working with youth-at-risk, Jewish-Arab programs, national social justice initiatives, its school system, and sister youth movement abroad, Habonim Dror. With Jewish Federations funding, Dror Israel educators and volunteers supported evacuees and provided day care educational activities for youth across Israel. With an additional allocation, Dror Israel will continue to provide support to evacuated youth from 45 communities, special teen leadership training, and resilience and mental health support.

Early Starters International

Early Starters International is an educational humanitarian organization that provides a healthy childhood to young children in emergency situations and vulnerable communities worldwide. In coordination with the Ministry of Education, they have established ten spaces for children, from birth to age 7, and their parents whose families have fled the kibbutzim and villages on the Gaza border. With Jewish Federations support, they will expand the number of spaces that offer workshops for parents and social-emotional support for children.

Economic Empowerment for Women (EEW)

Economic Empowerment for Women (EEW) works to promote the economic and social possibilities of women in Israel, with an emphasis on those of a low socioeconomic status, through the development of business entrepreneurship. This assistance to women equips and motivates them to open their own small businesses based on their skills and abilities. EEW will be providing business consulting to women with small businesses who have been evacuated from their homes and EEW graduates from across the country whose businesses have been affected.

Eden Association

Eden Association, based in Kibbutz Dorot and Kibbutz Karmia, specializes in the field of complex post-trauma therapy and trauma-focused frameworks for girls and women. Jewish Federations supported the NGO's boarding school, which has since returned to normal activity in Karmia. Additional support would go toward the Eden Mind and Body Treatment Center in Dorot, which will provide group and individual therapy to women from the Western Negev communities.

Elad Theater

The Elad Theater of Eilat and the Arava was founded in 2014 by a group of artists from the Habima and Cameri Theaters in Tel Aviv who moved from central Israel to Eilat and the Arava. Since October 7, the Theatre has turned all its activities into emergency projects to serve the tens of thousands of evacuees in the southern Negev. The Theater is forming community theater groups among evacuees to prepare a festival for the evacuee population and has been holding performances for children in the evacuee hotels.

Elah Center

The Elah Center initiative provides mental support to grandparents who have lost grandchildren, but who are not eligible for state funding, to enhance their emotional well-being, mitigate the development of cognitive and behavioral pathologies associated with PTSD, and facilitate a return to functional stability. Elah aims to reduce suffering and distress in the face of a loss which is in a sense a double loss: that of a grandchild and the fact that their grieving child will no longer be the same as he/she was before the loss.

ELEM - Youth in Distress in Israel

Elem helps vulnerable and at-risk youth who have fallen through the cracks of society get off the streets and on to life. Since the war began, they have been working with youth whose families have been displaced and/or affected by the conflict. A new grant will support outreach activities for youth-at-risk in Safed and Deir al-Asad in Northern Israel while  online "Breathing Spaces" will enable youth-at-risk nationwide to receive support and direction.

Elul

This is a new initiative that is modeled after the "Shnat Sherut" (year of service), to bring older experienced volunteers to the Western Negev to serve critical roles within communities, specifically in education, welfare, and community departments. Funding will support the pilot initiative, in partnership with local municipal funding, with a goal of rooting the initiative in the communities and building towards ongoing support from the government of Israel in the future.

Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP)  

The Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP) recruits and trains American firefighters, medical professionals, and other personnel to be deployed in Israel during emergencies. Jewish Federations’ support is enabling EVP to answer the call of the Israel Fire and Rescue Service to deploy 140 firefighters who will work in a volunteer capacity to supplement the Israeli capabilities, as EVP has done in the past.

Empower Ethiopian Women

Empowering Ethiopian Women is a grassroots nonprofit organization which provides a space for Ethiopian Israeli women to connect and support one another. The organization boasts a network of 18,000 Ethiopian Israeli women across the country and focuses on financial and educational empowerment. Since the war, they have expanded efforts to provide support for bereaved families, especially mothers and spouses. Ethiopian Israelis make up less than 2% of the population but account for nearly 5% of the fallen soldiers in the current war. Ethiopian young men enlist in the IDF at very high rates, especially to choice combat positions - which has caused a high emotional toll on the families. The recommended grant would provide culturally appropriate therapy, vouchers for school supplies and essentials, resilience seminars and lectures, and a social worker to coordinate with the bereaved women.

College of Management Academic Studies program

Engineering soldiers operate heavy vehicles and machinery in the war on the front lines. They are reservists, serving in exceptionally difficult conditions. Most of these reservists  are from a low socioeconomic background, working as truck or tractor drivers in their day-to-day lives. They  lead the fighting of every battalion, but do not receive support and guidance from their units because they are placed as individuals. This program was established by the legal clinic of the College of Management Academic Studies, in cooperation with commanders of the unit. To receive recognition from the Ministry of Defense and then benefits and services, individuals need legal support to advance their request through the process and bureaucracy.The goal is to accompany about 1,000 reserves soldiers in their struggle to receive recognition and rights from government authorities. The clinic will provide lawyers who will accompany the processes from their beginning to their end. The College is a previous grantee for the "HaReshet" program for accessing rights.

Engineers without Borders

A project that sets out to ease the difficult process of transitioning from in-patient to out-patient treatment by rapidly providing personalized home accessibility solutions for injured soldiers and civilians. This can include grips, ramps and other enhancements installed by a team of professionals and volunteers. Aim to reach a total of 300 wounded individuals.

Enosh – The Israeli Mental Health Association

Enosh - The Israeli Mental Health Association, has been a central organization in the field of mental health for 45 years. Enosh provides services nationwide to 16,000 individuals of all ages and their families. With Federations support, Enosh established the Eitan Center, a prevention and intervention center in the North for children and young adults (12-25), focusing on trauma treatment, loss and bereavement. With the ongoing security challenges in Northern Israel, Enosh plans to establish additional similar centers at a cost of $7M for two years. The centers will operate in cooperation with the health funds and will fully self-finance after two years.

ERAN

ERAN, a member of the Israel Trauma Coalition, provides Lifesaving Emotional First Aid Services, offering initial response and emotional support on the phone and online. The emergency hotlines provided be Eran (and Natal) are the primary initial source of support for Israelis in emotional need across the country. In the first ten weeks, Eran’s 1,750 volunteers and professional staff received over 65,000 distress calls. Eran requires support to train additional language speakers to be able to man its hotlines support the needs of the large number of olim (new immigrants) in distress.

Eretz Ir

The proposed project is presented as a partnership between EretzIr, which specializes in guiding

and developing communities and social entrepreneurs in Israel’s periphery, and Mahut Israel, which specializes in emergency preparedness with an emphasis on resilience building in communities and local governments. This program will work to establish, train, and equip civilian Community Emergency Teams to respond during a crisis in weaker communities identified with the Ministry of Welfare. The volunteer-based Community Emergency Teams will deal with a wide range of civilian (not security) needs. The goals of the program are to strengthen community resilience and preparedness, provide tools, training, and critical material responses, and strengthen and develop joint work routines and mechanisms.

Eshel Chabad  

Eshel Chabad is a large Israeli food security and humanitarian assistance NGO that works in partnership with the Ministry of Welfare, providing monthly packages to tens of thousands of Israelis. Eshel Chabad will be providing cash cards to evacuees to provide for their immediate needs and meals for elderly living under fire. Jewish Federations’ contribution is being matched by Israeli donors and the Ministry of Welfare.

On Passover 2024, the organization will enable thousands of evacuees to enjoy a Seder experience in one of more than 300 locations across Israel.

Etgarim

Etgarim was founded by disabled IDF veterans and rehabilitation professionals with the mission to empower and socially integrate people with disabilities through outdoor challenge sports. Etgarim is supporting evacuated children both with/without disabilities and their families through guided outdoor sport activities. The goal is to help individuals and groups better cope with reality through experiential learning, cooperation, processing, and integration.

Ethiopian National Project      

The Ethiopian National Project (ENP) was established to ensure the successful integration of the Ethiopian Jewish community into Israeli society. With the support of Jewish Federations, ENP deployed Amharic-speaking professionals to offer services to families in their network in three southern cities for a year. This allocation would extend the services of one of the southern coordinators (Ashkelon) and add a new coordinator position to serve Ethiopian Israelis in Northern Israel.

Ezra LaMarpe

Ezra LaMarpe is a nonprofit medical support organization founded in 1979. It is one of Israel's leading medical referral experts, also providing ambulatory services, rehabilitation, equipment loans, and more. The organization's Rehabilitation Medical Center in Sderot has been operating since 2016. The Center provides personalized rehabilitation for each patient, physically and mentally, and has been offering treatments for civilians and veterans in the Sderot and Western Negev area wounded during the war. Most of these patients underwent initial hospitalization and rehabilitation in major hospitals and were transferred to continue with day-rehabilitation due to the proximity to their homes. The center currently serves 155 patients and wants to expand to 400 patients.

Ezer Mizion

Ezer Mizion provides vitally needed assistance to individuals and their families facing health challenges such as cancer and to the elderly, handicapped and children with special needs to empower and assist such individuals in maintaining independence, restoring function, preserving dignity, and improving quality of life. Support for the national Augmentative and Alternative Communication Center to assist military veterans whose wounds or treatment affects their ability to communicate. The program will train clinical speech therapists in hospitals to communicate with their patients using an alternative communication kit developed by Ezer Mizion. Currently there are 100 hospitalized patients who require this support.

FemFoward

FemForward gives women working in junior positions in tech the tools, network, and individual mentorship to progress into management – fixing the “broken rung” on the career ladder. The organization has successfully completed four cohorts with 50% of graduates receiving promotions and/or salary increases within three months of completing training and many women advancing into management positions. Supported by the US Embassy in its original format, the program ran with groups from Israel and Morocco and included both Arab and Jewish participants in Jerusalem. This emergency effort will help strengthen the employment potential for women from both Northern and Southern Israel and create a sense of hope through the voice of shared society.

Galileast

The lack of regional cooperation is identified by all actors as a major factor preventing a more effective emergency response. In addition, establishing a Western Galilee Leadership Program (to supplement the existing one in the Eastern Galilee) will train change leaders to work together with a regional perspective. Federation support will also help build an alumni network for Galilist graduates from both the Western and Eastern clusters.

Garin Tzabar

Garin Tzabar is a program of the Tzofim, Israel Scouts, which provides comprehensive services to young Jews who make Aliyah to serve in the Israel Defense Forces as lone soldiers. Upon their arrival in Israel, Garin Tzabar participants are adopted by an Israeli kibbutz that becomes their home-away-from-home before and throughout their military service. Four Garin Tzabar groups were evacuated from their kibbutzim because of the war and have been temporarily housed in the JAFI absorption center in Raanana and Beit Brodetsky facility in Tel Aviv. Garin Tzabar must pay rent to the kibbutzim they have evacuated and pay for rent and furnishings at the new accommodations. They are also supporting their 1,000 active-duty lone soldiers nationally at war by expanding their emotional support systems, including for parents abroad.  

Givat Haviva – The Center for a Shared Society          

Givat Haviva is a civil society organization for social change, striving to create a model society in Israel anchored in principles of mutual respect, trust, pluralism, and intrinsic equality between citizens. Givat Haviva is located on a 40-acre educational campus with guest rooms, classrooms, an auditorium, and dining room. The campus is now home to 260 evacuees from the conflict zones in Israel. Givat Haviva is providing these families with accommodations, three meals a day, mental health support, and a variety of healing activities.

Gumat Chen Boarding School

Gumat Chen Boarding School, based in Kibbutz Sa'ad (three kilometers from Gaza) serves as a safe haven for girls from religious families who have experienced severe trauma. Jewish Federations will support ongoing therapy for the beneficiaries whose trauma has increased because of their proximity to the October 7 events and subsequent evacuation from their facility.

HaGal Sheli

HaGal Sheli utilizes surfing as an empowering educational tool to teach at-risk youth how to overcome life’s challenges through determination and persistence. HaGal Sheli’s programs are helping youth and young adults dealing with complex war-related trauma through water activity (surfing). The Hagal Sheli program includes sessions led by educators, professional psychologists, and social workers.

Golan Regional Council

The Golan Regional Council encompasses 32 small communities in the Golan Heights with a total population of 15,000. In January, the council’s communities were hosting 3,000 evacuees, and while the number is estimated to have dropped somewhat, they require additional services which are not supported by the national government. The council will provide services to evacuees through increased manpower for the education system; social-community education; basket of good for evacuee children; and increased transport support for school children.

Homeward/Habayta Education Advancement

Homeward (Habayta), was created to help evacuated Israelis return home, both in the South and the North, by providing excellent educational opportunities, driving a return of families to their home communities. In the new school year, they are focused on bringing human capital for the regions’ education systems. Federation support would provide funding to help recruit, train, and support for 400 new educational professionals for 2024-25.

Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus

Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus is a 350-bed community hospital, primarily serving the Jerusalem area. After October 7, Hadassah urgently opened the new Gandel Rehabilitation Center, which now cares for a few dozen patients, while five additional floors of the building are still under construction. The completed center will host 132 inpatient beds and extensive outpatient services. Jewish Federations support will allow the Hadassah to purchase specialized rehabilitation equipment to increase the quality of care in the new Center.

HaOgen – For Reservist Families

HaOgen, founded by three leading female social activists, has established a comprehensive volunteer-based support system for families of reserves soldiers. HaOgen is operating with thousands of women volunteers, including national, regional, and local coordinators in more than 200 localities. Jewish Federations support will provide capacity for the organization to operate efficiently during 2024, as reserves forces continue to be called regularly.

HaReshet – The Net

HaReshet – The Net is an umbrella organization of civil society organizations and academic legal clinics that have come together to address inquiries those affected by the war on social and economic issues and to provide individual support, from providing information to bureaucratic assistance for families who experience difficulties exercising their rights. The Net will manage information flow on a digital platform to coordinate needs as they arise and enable collaboration as a force multiplier.

HaShomer HaChadash

HaShomer HaHadash is a Zionist social-educational organization established with the goal of assisting farmers and ranchers as well as strengthening the Jewish people’s connections to the Land of Israel, Jewish values, and Zionist identity. It implements a wide variety of volunteer and educational activities in Israel’s agricultural and open spaces, serving the diversity of Israeli society. In response to the agricultural crisis currently unfolding because of the war, HaShomer HaChadash is recruiting and deploying thousands of volunteers to assist hundreds of farmers in saving their crops and getting the produce into the market.

Hashomer Hatzair and Tzedek Centers            

Hashomer Hatzair is a labor Zionist youth movement and educational organization that has worked for many years in kibbutzim in the north and south of Israel. With Jewish Federations support, Hashomer Hatzair built an informal educational system for evacuee children and youth that complements the formal one, harnessing internal resources to rehabilitate personal and communal resilience. An additional allocation will provide ongoing support to youth in the movement's affiliated kibbutzim which have been affected by the war in the north and south.

Also, the Hashomer Hatzair movement and the Tzedek Centers, a national grassroots movement that promotes democracy, equality, and justice in a shared Israeli society are responding together to the emergency. They are providing educational aid and family-hosting opportunities for evacuees.

Hatzor HaGlilit

Hatzor Haglilit is a small town of 10,000 located south of Kiryat Shmona, 12 km from the Lebanese border. The town has 300 registered evacuees, but its garbage collection has risen 25% since October 7, indicating that thousands of evacuees are located in the town, but have not officially changed their addresses. The council has been limited in its capacity to serve evacuees. It will use the grant to provide services to evacuees through hiring an evacuee coordinator; additional educational and welfare costs for evacuees; cultural events, youth at risk activities; after school activities for youth and children.

Hebrew University Center for Trauma Recovery

The mission of The Hebrew University Center for Trauma Recovery is to empower therapists and trauma survivors with evidence-based practices (EBPs) and technologies that enhance healing and recovery accessible via the public health system. The Center for Trauma Recovery will serve as a central hub for education, dissemination, and training in internationally recognized standard-of-care treatments for trauma-related disorders, with a focus on the public sector with the Ministry of Health, HMOs and other relevant entities. The Center will provide formal oversight and monitoring of workshops and supervisions, while engaging with managers, supervisors, and clinicians to ensure high-quality training and dissemination. In parallel, the Center will launch a comprehensive public awareness campaign through various mediums, including testimonials, videos, podcasts, printed materials, and workshops. This initiative aims to educate therapists and patients about trauma's impact, the advantages of evidence-based trauma practices, and ultimately, to destigmatize and boost the demand for these effective treatments.

HeHalutz

HeHalutz is the graduate movement of the Habonim Dror youth movement. HeHalutz works to create social change and to promote tolerance and pluralism. It also runs programs to help olim (immigrants) integrate into Israeli society. Currently, Hehalutz is working with the National Emergency Center for Information and Support to Arab Society and the Ministry for Social Equality to train and equip volunteer community search and rescue teams in Arab localities in northern Israel. After initially funding 10 search-and-rescue trailers, this allocation will allow for the purchase of six additional trailers and training of volunteers in six more Arab localities.

Helem.Club

Helem.Club was founded in 2022 by and for people with Post Traumatic Stress Injury (commonly known as PTSD). Its mission is to provide community, resources, and support for people with PTSD without the need for mental health professionals. Helem.Club is calling attention to the urgent need for accessible, affordable, and approachable resources for empowered community, culture change, and education to reach people living with PTSD with low-to-no-barrier digital tools and community resources available 24/7 to all people, regardless of stage, diagnosis, and financial means.

Herzog Center for Jewish Identity

The Yaacov Herzog Center for Jewish Identity has been operating for over 30 years in the southern region of Israel, with a focus on the Western Negev, in the fields of education and Jewish identity. The organization has extensive experience in facilitating dialogue groups and study circles for diverse and varied populations. It engages 800 learners from all segments of Israeli society each year. In response to the war, the Center is opening a series of six study groups, of which three are recommended for support: “learning from pain” study group, “southern women” study group, and “family embrace” study group.

HIAS Israel

HIAS Israel assists olim, works with civil society organizations and governmental bodies to improve the refugee asylum system and represents asylum seekers through legal proceedings. HIAS’ emergency approach provides support for basic needs for vulnerable displaced families in Israel who by virtue of their status in Israel are not eligible for support from the state.

Hillel Israel

Hillel Israel works on six campuses across Israel to foster pluralistic Jewish life and motivate students to make Judaism more meaningful and relevant for them. Hillel runs programs in routine times to encourage volunteering through small scholarships or university credit. Hillel will expand the project to provide volunteers to assist elderly Israelis among evacuees or in communities close to Gaza who remained in their homes. Hillel estimates it will provide between 500-1,000 volunteers who will help mitigate loneliness and isolation and provide practical assistance. Hillel provides training, an understanding of the Jewish approach to volunteering and ongoing support to the volunteers, who are expected to gain as much from the project as the elderly recipients.

Hof Ashkelon Resilience Center

Hof Ashkelon Regional Council had five evacuated communities and another 14 non-evacuated communities which were in close proximity to the war in Gaza and under frequent rocket attacks. It does not have a Partnership Federation. The Council has a recently constructed resilience center facility in their municipal campus with an unused plot between it and the community center. This allocation would allow the resilience center and community center to utilize that empty space to create landscaped and furnished outdoor treatment areas in response to requests by therapists for such spaces - particularly for children and youth. Creation of these shaded, outdoor spaces would also allow the resilience center to help more people when the indoor areas are full.

Hospitals and Mental Health Centers

The Israeli hospital system has treated the thousands of patients who were injured during the horrific events of October 7, and in the fighting since in the south and north. In parallel, all hospitals in Israel have been preparing for a potential expansion of the rocket fire to impact much larger areas of the country.

Jewish Federations have supported twenty-seven general hospitals and four rehabilitation hospitals to purchase urgently needed medical equipment to rapidly strengthen their emergency response capabilities. Each hospital was given an allocation based on a few factors: The number of wounded it treated, location within the country (priority to north and south), size of the hospital, and emergency needs. In addition, ten psychiatric hospitals have been supported to provide mental health services to those most affected by the war

Hospitals:

ADI Negev Rehabilitation Hospital

Assuta Ashdod Hospital

Barzilai Medical Center

Bnai Zion Hospital

Emek Medical Center Afula

Galilee Medical Center

Hadassah Medical Organization

Herzog Hospital

Hillel Yaffe Medical Center

Ichilov Hospital Sourasky Medical Center

Italian Hospital Haifa

Kaplan Hospital Rehovot

Laniado Hospital

Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital

Meir Medical Center

Nazareth Hospital

Poriya Tzafon Medical Center

Rabin Medical Center

Rambam Health Care Campus

Reuth Rehabilitation Hospital

Schneider Children's Medical Center

Shaare Zedek Medical Center

Shamir Medical Center (Asaf Harofeh)

Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer

Soroka Medical Center

St. Vincent's Hospital

Wolfson Medical Center

Yoseftal Hospital

Ziv Medical Center

Mental Health Centers:

Mazor Mental Health Center

Geha Mental Health Center

Beer Sheva Mental Health Center

Lev Hasharon Mental Health Center

Abarbanel Mental Health Center

Shaar Menashe Health Center

Shalvata Mental Health Center

The Jerusalem Center for Mental Health

Maale Carmel Mental Health Center

Merchavim Mental Health Center

Hotam – Teach First Israel  

Hotam (TFI) is a social and educational organization that trains people with leadership qualities to be teachers, principals, and educational leaders. They specialize in mentoring their trainees and other educators and providing them with the knowledge and tools necessary to afford all children equal opportunity for a better future, regardless of their background. At the request of the Ministry of Education, Hotam has established and is managing multiple temporary schools for evacuees around the country.

Hostages and Missing Families Forum                

The Forum is the representative body advocating on behalf of hostages and caring for family members and those who have returned. Started as a volunteer organization, they are now shifting to an organization with a paid structure which includes mental health professionals, family services, advocacy, finance and legal departments. Additional support is being provided to support  a special independent emergency humanitarian aid fund, which has deployed grants to cover the unique welfare needs of hostage families, including over 100 families and 200 individuals to date.

IDF Widows and Orphans Organization/ The Israel Midwives Association

For seven months the "By Your Side" program of the Israel Midwives Association has guided war widows through pregnancy and birth. The project so far has helped 26 widows and 6 additional women whose partners were critically wounded. Each woman receives the guidance of 2-3 midwives. 20 of the women have already given birth. At the start of the project, the budget was set for 35 women, based on Defense Ministry and National Insurance Institute data at the time. Unfortunately, as the war has progressed,  there is a new need to expand the project to an additional 15 women.

Ilanot Rehabilitation Center (Alin Beit Noam)

Alin Beit Noam is a nonprofit organization operating since 1941 for the benefit of individuals with disabilities. The Ilanot Center was established by Alin Beit Noam to be a shared home for individuals with and without disabilities. The center received approval from relevant government authorities to provide rehabilitation treatments to those wounded in the current war and requires assistance in purchasing advanced equipment for this purpose. The rehabilitation departments in the hospitals are full and civilians and veterans find it difficult to receive proper treatment outside hospital walls. TThe Ilanot Center will serve as a rehabilitation day-center for residents of the Sharon area and beyond.

IsraAid

IsraAID is an independent NGO working in humanitarian aid and disaster response. In Israel, they are partnering with local groups to coordinate humanitarian efforts, provide mental health, education, and protection support, and urgent aid to evacuated and vulnerable communities. Funding to provide support in logistics and coordination for all their activities.

Israeli Alzheimer’s Medical Center

The Israel Alzheimer’s Medical Center in Ramat Gan is a residential medical facility for 200 people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia and a leading treatment provider in Israel. It also hosts a multipurpose day center for dementia patients who live at home or with their families. Since the war, the center has taken in around 30 new residents who were evacuated from the south and north. Although the center was at capacity, they happened to be completing construction on a new wing of the building which was able to accommodate the evacuees. Most of these evacuees will live at the center for the foreseeable future and potentially for the rest of their lives. The proposed budget will help the center cover part of the additional expenses resulting from the influx of new residents, including staffing, equipment, and basic needs.

Israel Antiquities Authority

Teams of IAA educators, instructors, and archaeologists have been developing and running programs across Israel for evacuated children, teens, and adults. Operating from the four districts in the IAA, strategically located around Israel, the trained teams of educators reach all the areas which house the evacuees, in hotels, hostels, and other temporary accommodations. They have operated more than 300 programs reaching more than 10,000 people.

Israel Association for Child Protection (ELI)  

ELI’s mission is to protect Israel’s children and break the intergenerational cycle of abuse through a broad spectrum of services, including crisis intervention, emergency hot line, therapy, prevention programs in schools, professional education, and community awareness. Eli is leveraging its experience to provide long term trauma treatment for children who witnessed and experienced the worst of the atrocities.

This program has been renewed to provide long-term therapeutic and crisis intervention, and complex trauma relief for children.

Israel Association for Community Centers

The IACC offers a wide range of solutions to the needs of local populations in Israel, through its national network of more than 1,000 community centers which work in close cooperation with local authorities. Jewish Federations have supported IACC in a wide range of programs and interventions since October 7. This allocation would renew support for non-evacuated populations in 11 local authorities close to the Northern border, where regular social and educational services have been severely disrupted. This support would focus on communal resilience, the elderly, youth and infants.

Israel Center on Addiction & Mental Health

The Israel Center on Addiction & Mental Health is a national center spearheading systemic policies for reducing addiction and its damages. It promotes the field of addiction prevention on the national agenda. The center provides therapy sessions, training in schools, training for educational teams in the south, training and guidance of mental health professionals and medical teams and clinical intervention for families. The goal is to provide teachers with tools to support children affected by the current war, as well as classroom interventions to avoid/lower the chances of substance abuse among students because of the war.

Israel’s Collective Action for Resilience (ICAR)

Israel’s Collective Action for Resilience is a new entity convening a national scientific advisory body to support Israel's recovery and foster collaboration by establishing a strategic and systematic roadmap for trauma healing - anticipating the needs over the next 8-10 years, financing and pioneering sustainable solutions, and furthering the science on a global scale. The initial planning phase will include mapping the ecosystem and making priority recommendations. Jewish Federation support will fund this first stage.

Israel Elwyn

Israel Elwyn works in collaboration with and supported by the Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and local municipalities nationwide to serve over 5,400 individuals with disabilities, including toddlers, children, youth, young adults, adults, and seniors. With assistance from Jewish Federations, Israel Elwyn will provide a wide range of services for people with disabilities who have been affected by the war – from emotional support to tailored activities to critical equipment.

Israel Emergency Loan Fund

The Jewish Federations Israel Emergency Loan Fund will address Israel’s large scale impending economic crisis stemming from the critical liquidity issues faced by tens of thousands of businesses amid the war. Through allocations to fully vetted existing loan platforms, the Loan Fund will deliver capital quickly and at scale across regions, sectors, and industries.  Philanthropic capital will absorb losses and support discounted borrowing rates, allowing the loan platforms to access leverage from banks and insurance companies to provide small and medium business loans at a total value of 3-5 times the value of capital allocated by the Loan Fund.

IGY (Israel Gay Youth)

IGY has been operating since 2002 as a movement for LGBTQ+ young people (12-23 years old). The organization has 4,000 youth participants and 400 volunteers. IGY works to empower LGBTQ+ young people by creating meaningful social spaces and encouraging them to take part in shaping the community and Israeli society. Jewish Federations support will help IGY strengthen their groups in affected cities in southern Israel and assist their most vulnerable members.

Israel Medical Association

Established in 1912, IMA represents 95% of physicians in Israel and works to advance doctors and the science of medicine. The IMA is providing anonymous psychological support and mental health counseling via Mifne to medical interns returning from reserves duty. Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mifne was developed by IMA in collaboration with the Israel Psychiatric Association to help young physicians deal with occupational stress, navigate the many intersections between personal and professional lives and prevent burnout.

Israel’s National Council for the Child (NCC)

The Israel National Council for the Child (NCC) mission is to ensure the welfare, well-being, and rights of all children in Israel. NCC is a protagonist in all children and youth related issues, on a national level; initiating and promoting public policy, forging cross-sector partnerships focused on the and operating as a main source of information for professionals, government, and the non-profit sector. NCC's entire operations have been diverted to responding to current needs. It will be advocating for children and providing training at the macro level; and providing support for children and teens is distress at the micro level.

Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC)

The Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC), a key Federation emergency partner, is the cornerstone in the national treatment of trauma and emergency preparedness in Israel. ITC operates 12 resilience centers, mostly in the Gaza border area, which offer a unique model that provides a seamless response along the continuum between emergency preparedness, emergency, and recovery. ITC also works through its member organizations to provide additional mental health and psychosocial services, such as the emotional support hotlines opened by Eran and Natal. Jewish Federations have provided broad support to ITC since October 7. This allocation will allow ITC to train a wide variety of actors, mainly at the local authority level to prepare them to respond in emergencies including therapists, welfare staff, volunteers, municipal hotline workers, residential institution staff and hospital emergency teams.

Israeli Children’s Fund

The Israeli Children's Fund is the only organization serving all war orphans ages 0-25 whose parents were civilians. ICF was founded by a group of Israeli tech and business leaders with the mission of providing support for orphans at key life milestones in areas where the government does not offer assistance. Federation dollars will  fund life cycle grants, formal and non-formal educational grants, and resilience grants for orphaned children, with the goal of providing security for these children as they enter adulthood.

The Empowering Futures Young Adult Program assists bereaved adults aged 21-30 who have been devastated by the October 7 events but receive minimal government assistance. The program provides career guidance, academic support for students, and healing retreats with peers. THe  Mentoring Program also supports young adults aged 18-30 who lost one parent in the October 7 terrorist attacks. This initiative pairs participants with volunteer mentors for personalized guidance and emotional support, while also offering peer support groups and tailored recovery plans to address educational and vocational needs. By fostering a supportive network and providing practical resources, the program empowers these young adults to overcome challenges, achieve their goals, and build a positive future despite the loss of a parent in this significant life stage.

Israeli Volunteering Council    

The Israeli Volunteering Council (IVC) promotes volunteering in cooperation with government ministries, local authorities, NGOs, and the business sector in Israel and around the world. In emergencies, it manages the work of over 86 national NGOs with over 200,000 volunteers together with the IDF Homefront Command. WEME is a digital management tool for use by organizations, volunteers, and local authorities to manage and coordinate requests and tasks. It has been trialed in Jerusalem by a small number of organizations and is now ready for final tweaks and a roll out to the organizations that work with the IVC and Home Front Command in emergencies.

IVC will also run a program to help NGOs to prepare for a major war by conducting training, mapping NGOs at a local level and connecting them with local authorities (including Arab localities)

Israel Women’s Network

The Israel Women’s Network (IWN) has been working for 40 years to promote women's rights and gender equality in Israel. Combating gender-based violence, advocate for equality in the job market and public sphere and provide free legal assistance through a hotline to about 1,500 women annually. Since October 7th, they noted a significant increase in the volume of referrals from women to the hotline; a twofold surge in October referrals compared to September. Among these referrals, 34% were centered around clarifying rights, including concerns such as seeking payment for the initial days of the war, determining obligations to work without a protected environment, and navigating issues related to unemployment benefits. The requested continued unabated prompting the creation of the Alice Shalvi Women’s Right’s Center taking the hotline to the next stage with free legal consultation, communication, and advocacy support on behalf of women.

Injaz Center for Professional Arab Local Governance

Injaz’s mission is to assist Arab municipalities in building strong, effective and professional systems and sustainable infrastructures that position the municipalities to pro-actively advance their economic interests and service delivery, and thereby improve the lives of residents.With Federation support,  Injaz will run a training program for youth directors and spokespersons of Arab local authorities (with a focus on the north of the country) to prepare them to respond to an emergency. It will also run a program to identify recently retired health care workers in the Arab sector and train them to respond in a major emergency while integrating them into a network of volunteers and health organizations.

Jaffa Institute

The Jaffa Institute operates in some of the most disadvantaged areas in Israel in the socioeconomic periphery in Tel Aviv-Jaffa and in Bet Shemesh. It provides educational, nutritional, therapeutic, and social support services to help people escape the cycle of intergenerational poverty. During the war, the Jaffa Institute opened its residential high school in Bet Shemesh to house, feed, and care for evacuees. It is also providing a therapeutic program for evacuees who are staying in Tel Aviv hotels.  

JDC      

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, JDC, is one of Jewish Federations’ historic partners, with deep roots and an unshakable connection to the State of Israel. JDC is caring for those who have no one else to turn to – vulnerable seniors, people with disabilities, children and young adults at risk, families in financial distress, and the unemployed. Jewish Federation emergency support will enable JDC to respond to the unique needs of these special populations as well as the southern communities,  the residents and leadership, to advance efforts of restoring personal security, ensuring access to government benefits, embracing vulnerable populations, strengthening local leadership and resources, and providing multi-faceted care for youth.  JDC is also providing training and counseling to frontline professionals to ensure they have  the support they need to continue their important work.  

Strengthening and Revitalizing Israel’s Northern Border Region:

While the government of Israel has committed to providing funding to northern Israel, it has not yet set up an authority or structure to assess needs and determine how best to distribute the funds. JDC Elka is stepping and is providing the mayors, CEOs and service department heads of 24 local authorities  in northern Israel with the tools and guidance they need to respond to the emergency and build for the future. JDC's team will work with local authority heads to help them identify needs and the limitations blocking them from meeting those needs. They will then guide and assist these local governments as they create concrete action plans to effectively address war-related challenges. In addition, JDC will offer more intensive guidance to 10 of the more vulnerable local authorities. These are authorities who are so overwhelmed they need help with even the most basic steps. This critical effort will not only serve to help the individual authorities but also create the conditions for intentional and strategic regional collaborations.  The action plans created by the local authorities will address the current emergencies and prioritize work according to urgency and impact, incorporating strategic planning to ensure long-term sustainability.

Emergency Humanitarian Aid to the North:

While the government of Israel has committed to providing funding to northern Israel, it has not yet set up an authority or structure to assess needs and determine how best to distribute the funds. JDC Elka is stepping and is providing the mayors, CEOs and service department heads of 24 local authorities  in northern Israel with the tools and guidance they need to respond to the emergency and build for the future. JDC's team will work with local authority heads to help them identify needs and the limitations blocking them from meeting those needs. They will then guide and assist these local governments as they create concrete action plans to effectively address war-related challenges. In addition, JDC will offer more intensive guidance to 10 of the more vulnerable local authorities. These are authorities who are so overwhelmed they need help with even the most basic steps. This critical effort will not only serve to help the individual authorities but also create the conditions for intentional and strategic regional collaborations.  The action plans created by the local authorities will address the current emergencies and prioritize work according to urgency and impact, incorporating strategic planning to ensure long-term sustainability.

Mental Health Initiative:

JDC has woven been weaving together a comprehensive initiative to improve the capacity of the Israeli mental health system by promoting the wellbeing of Israeli citizens. The initiative includes convening and partnering with the key stakeholders in the field of mental health, including the GOI, local authorities, philanthropy, civil society, health services, and the business sector to develop the infrastructure and systems to enable all Israelis to access public health and wellness resources that address their specific needs, mitigating the need for more intensive interventions by mental health professionals. Significant funding has already been raised via a joint venture with the Government of Israel and key components will include a national dashboard, a “seal of quality,” new technologies to assist with early detection and emotional support, and program to bolster local authorities with Mental Health Coordinators. These professionals will be responsible for developing and implementing strategic plans based on local residents’ mental health needs.

Jerusalem Open House – National LGBTQ+ Emergency Response  

All Israeli LGBTQ+ non-profit organizations have joined together and entrusted the Jerusalem Open House to lead the establishment of a mental health emergency support system. More than 50 psychologists and social workers have been enlisted to provide a nationwide response to trauma, loss, and other challenges that LGBTQ+ Israelis are facing during the crisis. This need arose quickly, as many LGBTQ+ individuals hesitate to access services through state institutions, especially during periods of turmoil, and will be better served in specialized frameworks.

A renewal of allocation to continue the program for six additional months of treatments while the NGOs work to secure multi-year government support for the project.

Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT)

The Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) is an academic institution that specializes in high-tech engineering, industrial management, business administration and life and health sciences. It is dedicated to strengthening Jerusalem and responding to Israel’s socio-economic needs. JCT empowers diverse segments of Israeli society — who would otherwise not have access to higher education — to become contributing members of Israel’s workforce. JCT is now hosting high schools and other educational institutions from areas under fire, allowing them to maintain routine for the students on its campus, where they can use its dormitories and classrooms.

Jerusalem Hills Therapeutic Center

Jerusalem Hills Therapeutic Center is a unique institution which provides post-hospitalization therapeutic treatment for children aged 7 to 15. These include some of Israel most "at-risk" youth from all sectors of Israeli society. The Center also operates a training center for professionals and a community clinic. Jewish Federations will help provide therapeutic sessions for children with first-hand and second-hand trauma from the war, special training for professionals, transportation for displaced children from affected areas, and equipment for shelters at the facility.

Jewish Agency for Israel            

Fund for Victims of Terror:

The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Fund for Victims of Terror is providing immediate, critical financial aid to victims and their families. In addition, the Jewish Agency is providing housing, food, activities, security, economic assistance, and more for new olim and elderly residents, including Holocaust survivors,  in the conflict zone.

Youth Futures:

The Jewish Agency's Youth Futures program partners mentors with at-risk children for a long-term period of cooperative learning and growth, addressing challenges such as learning disabilities, behavioral difficulties, poverty, and familial instability. Given the impact of the last 10 months, the Jewish Agency is now looking to expand the program to enable additional families and beneficiaries (children and their parents), to participate in this program in both Israel’s north and south. The funding model includes participation from the local authority along with philanthropy.

Shelter Renovations:

The Jewish Agency has identified 21 facilities in their care, located in Israel’s south and north, that require upgrades to offer better physical protection against rocket attacks for residents and staff. These facilities, including absorption centers for recent immigrants, Amigour residential buildings for Holocaust survivors and other elderly people, and youth villages for youth, are not adapted for a scenario in which many, more powerful rockets are fired from Lebanon and Gaza.  Shelters in these buildings are located too far from most apartments/living quarters for people to reach them in a timely manner. They are small and/or run-down and were never intended for extended use with people instructed to remain in them for long periods of time.  Upgraded shelters will make it possible for frightened immigrants and elderly residents who cannot run to shelters to stay safe for long periods during emergencies. As part of an effort to encourage aligned grantmaking for this initiative, the total amount raised is $16.1 million.

Volunteer Doctor Program:

 Israeli hospitals are facing persistent shortages of doctors as many continue to be called up to serve in the IDF as reservists. These gaps exist within hospitals generally and are worse in key specialties including emergency room, ophthalmologists, and rehabilitation specialists.

These short-term gaps can be filled by overseas doctors who are willing to volunteer in Israel. Hospitals are able to cover accommodation and malpractice insurance, but support is needed to cover flight costs. The Jewish Agency has been partnering with the Ministry of Health as one of several platforms to help recruit and facilitate the arrival of medical volunteers. At this time, the Ministry of Health is looking to place 50 doctors/month for 2 months.

Jewish Funders Network / Forum of Foundations      

The Forum of Foundations in Israel is a community of foundation professionals seeking to benefit Israeli society. The Jewish Funders Network is a global community of private foundations and philanthropists whose mission is to promote meaningful giving and to improve philanthropy in the Jewish world. The two organizations are cooperating to build a portal to efficiently connect funders and the needs in the field. The portal will allow NGOs to upload requests which will undergo basic vetting. Funders will be able to quickly review and fund relevant opportunities.

Joint Council of Pre-Military Academies in Israel

The Joint Council of Mechinot (Pre-Military Leadership Academies) is the representative organization of all fifty-four mechinot in Israel. The mission of the council is to help all these institutions, whether oriented toward the secular, traditional, or Orthodox population, turn their common educational vision into practical reality. The Council has been organizing for the mechina participants across the country to volunteer where they are most needed in areas ranging from agriculture, informal education, assisting the elderly and other special populations, refurbishing shelters, among many others.

Jordan River Village

Jordan River Village (JRV) is a unique haven for children grappling with serious illnesses and Disabilities. They have now become a respite location for families either with returned hostages or those who are still in Gaza. As of February 6, the Village hosted over 100 returned hostages and their families, as well as family members still waiting for the return of their loved ones; another 55 family members of hostages are arriving at the village for some much-needed rest and healing time together in the coming days. Funding is required to close the gap between government and philanthropic contributions.  

Kfar Izun

Kfar Izun is an innovative treatment-rehabilitation village which operates programs for young people in crisis between the ages of 18-40 who have "dual diagnoses" – drug use combined with mental health issues. These young people are often recently released soldiers or backpackers returning from long trips abroad. Kfar Izun also operates Ministry of Defense-approved programs for military PTSD and run a home in India for Israel travelers in collaboration with the Anti-Drug Authority and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Due to its expertise in the field, Kfar Izun will be opening small group, three-month intensive treatment programs for the most affected survivors of the Nova music festival (will reach at least 200 people).  

Kiryat Shmona Network of Community Center

The Kiryat Shmona Network of Community Centers operates five community centers in Kiryat Shmona in close cooperation with the local municipality. The Network is ensuring the provision of informal education, youth, community building and aged services for the city’s residents who are now spread among 120 hotels from Tiberius to Eilat. The Network provides residents (as well as other evacuees) with community, informal education, youth, and adolescent programs, as well as programming for the elderly and employment assistance. A major challenge for the city is to ensure that stronger residents remain connected to the city and choose to return to live in Kiryat Shmona at the conclusion of the hostilities.

Kivunim

Kivunim is dedicated to empowering young adults with disabilities to achieve independence and become active members of their communities. Following up on Jewish Federations support early in the war, an additional allocation would support Kivunim's new Therapy Institute providing specialized mental health care for people with disabilities in Northern Israel out of their centers in Nahariya, Kibbutz Lochamei HaGeta'ot, and Haifa.

Kodkode

This ultra-Orthodox program for training programmers for the defense establishment began in 2022 and as of July 2023, 88 of graduates of the first cohort have been integrated into programming jobs within IDF technological units. The training program is intended for talented and serious ultra-Orthodox men aged 21-27 with an emphasis on a highly professional course of study, in a suitable Torah atmosphere. Graduates then serve in high tech roles for 24 months within the IDF. Now developing a second, expanded second cohort (as a result of Swords of Iron War) funds are needed to enable the expansion of the program. In addition to fulfilling new military needs, the program provides a pathway into Israeli life for Haredi men. 

Koret Israel Economic Development Funds (KIEDF)

KIEDF https://www.kiedf.net/, was established in 1994 and has been making loans aggregating approximately $15mm per annum in recent years to vulnerable markets such as women-owned businesses and the Ethiopian and Israeli Arab  ommunities, predominantly in the North. In the face of the current situation, KIEDF will deploy an additional ~$10 million of low-cost loans to micro and small businesses impacted by the attack and war in the South and North and eventually more broadly across the country.

Kav LaOved - Justice in Crisis: Legal Aid

Kav LaOved is a nonprofit organization which aims to uphold full and equal labor rights for all workers in the Israeli labor market regardless of religion, nationality, gender, or legal status. Existing legal aid services are insufficient to meet the heightened demand, particularly in remote areas such as the Negev, the far south, the far north, and around the border areas of Israel. The war has led to a significant rise in unemployment and job insecurity, with many workers losing their primary source of income and struggling to provide for their families. The current labor laws and policies do not provide an adequate safety net, as Israel has never experienced a war of this duration. This project aims to provide immediate and effective legal aid to those most affected by the war, leveraging the potential of law students to provide much-needed legal support and ultimately contributing to a more just and equitable Israeli society.

Krembo Wings

Krembo Wings is a fully inclusive youth movement in Israel that brings together children and youth with and without disabilities for weekly social and educational activities. Since October 2023, the organization has been working to expand their activities to provide support to youth who need it most. With the support of Jewish Federations, Krembo Wings opened new branches and programs to serve the needs of evacuees in the north and south, and an additional allocation would enable this work to continue in the southern region over the next year.  

LATET

Latet "To Give" – is a leading Israeli non-profit combatting poverty and food insecurity and working to mobilize Israeli civil society toward mutual responsibility. Latet started providing a humanitarian response to individuals and families affected by the war by providing food and hygiene kits to those most in need. With the support of Jewish Federations, Latet is prioritizing populations such as evacuees from the southern and northern border regions, senior citizens, Holocaust survivors, regular and reserve soldiers, and families in areas which are sustaining significant rocket attacks. Latet is also distributing 15,000 school kits for evacuee children in 1st to 6th grades that include everything needed for them to continue their studies at their temporary educational facilities.

Latet Pe

Latet Pe’s (Translation: Give Voice) objective is to minimize sexual abuse and harassment in schools and communities. They specialize in unique educational programs that empower children and assist adults in creating healthy, simple, and positive discourse on the sensitive issue of sexuality and sexual abuse. New project to prevent/deal with sexual predators for evacuee children and youth in the hotel setting.

An additional grant to expand the Comprehensive Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Resilience Program tailored to the needs of displaced communities in Israel affected by the Iron Swords War. In their first phase of work, Latet Pe provided training directly to 5,000 children and youth. An additional 8,000 received training from their teachers using lesson plans and video materials. Some of the initial funds were spent adapting their materials to the current reality.  Additional funds will enable them to expand to an additional 6000 children and youth.

Leket Israel    

Leket Israel is the leading food rescue organization in Israel. Leket collects healthy, surplus food and distributes it to populations in need through partner organizations. With the support of Jewish Federations, Leket will provide hundreds of thousands of meals to evacuees, senior citizens, and families from the hardest-hit areas of Israel. It will also distribute reloadable food purchase cards for families in need, such as those who lost their source of income or single parents who are unable to work. Leket is also supporting local agriculture by purchasing millions of pounds of produce directly from Israeli farmers who are facing a significant labor crisis and competition from imports and collaborating with major institutions to enable high-school students to assist with agricultural harvests.

Additionally, Leket Israel has handled increased quantities of produce to support both agriculture and individuals, along with a significant increase for prepared food. As a result, local partners require additional infrastructure to store, refrigerate, heat, and handle the food safely. The infrastructure will assist the partners during the current war and in the future, enabling them to grow and service more people while maintaining the highest level of food hygiene.  In addition, the large volume of food that has passed through the main Leket Israel warehouse has caused significant wear and tear on the existing infrastructure.

Lo Omdot Me Neged

The organization assists women and men who have survived the cycle of prostitution and trafficking within the sex industry in Israel. The association was established to raise public awareness of the damage caused by prostitution, connect survivors to the community, and provide emergency assistance services. October 7 and the war that has followed, has exacerbated the situation of current and former sex workers dramatically and there is a significantly increased need for emergency support due. This is due to the deterioration of Israel’s financial situation and the impact of war trauma on those already suffering from complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Women in prostitution are a vulnerable, transparent population facing the harshest stigma. These women face daily economic struggles and suffer from nutritional insecurity. Most live in poverty, lacking family support, and experiencing terrible loneliness. Additionally, due to their PTSD, they have difficulty holding onto jobs.

Ma'ase Center

Ma’ase  is a hub for social volunteerism that works to promote responsibility, shared civil society, and active citizenship among young people from diverse groups across Israel. Its mission is to advance social mobility among young people from Israel's peripheries. Ma'ase has established an informal school for evacuee children at the Dead Sea hotels and its volunteers provide a range of services, such as daycare for the children of essential workers and other volunteer tasks elsewhere in Israel.

Ma’avarim

Ma’avarim – Israeli Trans Community is collaborating with the other two leading trans-led NGOs in Israel, the Gila Project and Trans Israel, to provide a social care and welfare emergency response for this marginalized and highly vulnerable population. The NGOs are working through Ma’avarim’s Social Care Center for trans and gender-diverse individuals, which was established in 2020 with the Ministry of Welfare and providing special response for Russian-speaking and Arabic-speaking trans individuals in partnership with the Jerusalem Open House.

Maccabi World Union  

Maccabi World Union, an international Jewish sports organization famous for the Maccabiah Games, operates Kfar Maccabiah, a hotel, conference center, and sports complex in Ramat Gan. Within 36 hours of the October 7th attacks, Kfar Maccabiah was at full capacity hosting nearly 1,000 evacuees from across southern Israel. Staff and volunteers are providing three meals a day and utilizing the facilities on site to host extensive activities for children and adults.  

Magen David Adom    

Magen David Adom (MDA) is Israel's National Emergency Pre-Hospital Medical and Blood Services Organization. MDA is Israel’s largest volunteer organization and provides emergency medical services across Israel. During emergencies, MDA’s volunteers and professional staff work around the clock to save lives. Jewish Federations will assist MDA to urgently upgrade Basic Life Support ambulances to become Mobile Intensive Care Units and replenish critical medical supplies.

Maoz

Maoz is an organization that convenes and cultivates leaders from all population groups and sectors of Israeli society, to build trust among decision-makers and creates changes and multi-sector solutions for citizens and systems in four core areas: local governance, health, education, and employment. A new initiative will train hundreds of new leaders within southern Israel. It will include 10 subject-specific training programs (economic growth; regional recovery; trust between communities) and 10 short-term tailored training programs for southern leaders and professional teams; collectively reaching 500 leaders

Masa Israeli – I Belong Israel

Masa Israeli is a national educational organization that leads thousands of educational trips for Israeli and diaspora teens annually. Masa Israeli is now conducting educational and recreational activities for youth who have been evacuated to hotels throughout the country and is also working with youth who have not been evacuated from communities such as Ofakim and Netivot. These youth and their families are experiencing high levels of distress and difficulty due to the traumatic experiences they have faced.

Mashiv Haruah

The 'Mashiv Ha'ruach' initiative has been providing essential assistance, including workshops and follow-up care, to social workers, therapists, and volunteers who are exposed daily to the emotional toll of their work with survivors and victims of the October 7th attack and subsequent events. They are one of the organizations that have newly joined the Israel Trauma Coalition as a broad-based response to treat trauma across Israel. The request is for a capacity grant for an organization.

Masters Degree Program - Certified Prosthetics and Orthotics Specialist

The Ministry of Health is advancing the establishment of an Orthotics and Prosthetics Master’s Degree in cooperation with Ben Gurion University and ADI Negev. In Israel, there is currently no academic training program for this profession, which is traditionally passed from specialists to apprentices. Since October 7, with the high number of amputees and other physical injuries, there is more need than ever for specialist care in this field. The two-year program will recruit 15 students and the funding will stem from both government and philanthropic sources. The Ministry of Health has committed NIS 6M to the establishment of the degree program, and Jewish Federations support will allow the institutions to quickly launch the first year of studies.

Melabev

Melabev provides essential services to older adults coping with dementia and Alzheimer's. Melabev's mission is to increase the quality of life of seniors in the community and enable “Aging in Place” for as long as possible. Melabev’s dementia trained therapists are providing therapeutic programming in hotels for evacuated seniors from the north with cognitive disfunction. The programming will be conducted in the community if the evacuees return before the end of program.

Mental Health in the Community

The Community Intervention Initiative of the Ministry of Health is based on collaboration between psychiatric departments in general hospitals and psychiatric hospitals. The goal is to provide accessible mental health treatment in the community, preventing stigma or fear as barriers to seeking treatment.

Hospitals will establish intervention centers that offer day-treatment and hospitalization for patients in need of care. The plan includes the establishment of 16 community intervention centers all over the country. Integrated centers include staff from large psychiatric departments and professional therapeutic teams, specializing in a wide range of treatments for relevant populations. The Community Intervention Initiative will also open a discourse in society, helping rebrand mental health care and leading to education for open discussion and understanding of mental health issues.

Michal Sela Forum

The Michal Sela Forum is dedicated to saving lives and combating domestic violence through innovation and technological solutions. Since October 7, there has been a 20% increase in femicide in Israel. The ongoing war continues to impact threatened women physically, mentally, & emotionally. Michal’s Hotline, which provides empathetic responses and immediate assistance to threatened women, has seen a 26% increase in calls since October 7. Since the outbreak of the war, 1,752 inquiries were received - an average of 234 inquiries per month. Calls have increased not only quantitatively, but also in their complexity. Federation support will increase the hotline staffing and response hours to help the increasing number of women in need.

Migdal Local Council

The Migdal Local Council in northern Israel near the Sea of Galilee is a small local authority of around 2,000 permanent residents, which has taken in at least 1,800 evacuees thanks to hotels and many holiday apartments and rental units in its area. It is also one of the closer-to-home evacuation options for northern evacuees geographically. The local authority has requested assistance with the many extra expenditures it has incurred hosting evacuees, who are receiving basic needs including clothing and food, supplies, services, early childhood teachers, and equipping communal shelters.

Ministry of Health Rehabilitation Initiative

Since the October 7 attacks, more than 12,000 Israelis have been injured, some with life-changing injuries. To respond to the increased need, the Ministry of Health has worked quickly to increase the capacity of existing facilities, but it remains insufficient to support the long-term need. The Ministry is now extending its planning into two main areas. The first, physical expansion of rehabilitation centers located throughout Israel and within the community, in addition to increasing the services and treatment options. This includes new and advanced technologies and equipment. The second element is growing the workforce capacity through enhanced professional development and guidance programs for existing staff and incentives to increase the number of rehabilitation specialties.

Mitchashvim/2B.Friendly

Mitchashvim is the largest non-profit in Israel distributing refurbished computers with a national, supervised, transparent, and equitable distribution model. It is partnering with 2B.Friendly, a fund which promotes a just and environmentally friendly economy through the power of the private sector. Mitchashvim will be providing thousands of laptops to evacuees and others in need during the war.

MOSHE

MOSHE – Words that Make a Difference is an organization devoted to reducing suicide rates through community-based interventions. In Israel, an estimated 600 people die by suicide each year and 13,000 people in suicide-related distress. Since October 7, countless people are suffering from acute mental health issues – and heightened suicide risk. MOSHE is providing community interventions that are highly effective and save lives – through a call center, professional training, and both direct interventions and group sessions for those in crisis.

NATAL                

NATAL is an apolitical non-profit organization that offers psychological and emotional treatment and support to victims of trauma due to war and terror. Since its establishment in 1998, NATAL has provided psychological assistance to individuals in Israel from all sectors of society, irrespective of age, gender, and ethnicity. With Jewish Federation support hotlines are available for those in need along with direct care.

NATAN

NATAN is an all-volunteer NGO dedicated to providing aid in the wake of both natural and human-made disasters, regardless of location or circumstances. In collaboration with Clalit Health Services, the largest Israeli HMO, NATAN has established and is operating medical and dental clinics in Shafayim, the Dead Sea, and Eilat to provide services to the large evacuee populations housed in those locations.

National Institute of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation

The National Institute for Neuropsychological Rehabilitation provides traumatic brain injury and stroke victims with complementary treatment to the physical rehabilitation treatment offered at hospitals. The center provides special care to restore personal abilities and day-to-day functions. The center is an official supplier of the Ministry of Defense, but it is not budgeted by the public health funds – so civilians are not funded.

Navah

Navah, founded in 2003 during the Second Intifada, is dedicated to supporting bereaved families of IDF soldiers, victims of terror, and disasters. Their “Empty Chair” project seeks to support bereaved families on one of the most-family focused nights on the Jewish calendar- Seder night. Bereaved families are invited and hosted at hotels, including a communal Seder.

Nefesh B’Nefesh            

Nefesh B’Nefesh supports those making Aliyah from North America, from the initial process to starting new lives in Israel. With the support of Jewish Federations, Nefesh B’Nefesh will provide free counseling services to support families living in the South, parents of Lone Soldiers, bereaved Olim families, injured Lone Soldiers, and the general English-speaking population. In addition, a dedicated team of social workers will assist Lone Soldiers, visit hospitals, counsel bereaved parents, and address incoming calls from concerned parents overseas. Jewish Federations will also join a major initiative to bring new physicians to Israel, focusing on the needs of the north and the south, to ensure the future prosperity  of these geographic regions.

Neve Eshkol

Neve Eshkol is the Association for the Elderly in the Eshkol Regional Council, which has a sixty-kilometer border with the Gaza Strip and is the region that suffered the most casualties and hostages taken on October 7. Neve Eshkol provides welfare services and leisure activities for elderly people in the region, including Holocaust survivors. Since the war and the evacuation of the residents, Neve Eshkol has been taking care of a variety of needs for 700 elderly people, and in some cases their foreign caregivers, who are staying in multiple evacuation sites around the country.

New York State Bar Association (with the Israel Bar Association)

The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) defines itself as the voice of the legal profession in New York State. NYSBA played an integral role after 9/11 in ensuring that victims of the attack were able to access their full rights through pro-bono representation. The Israel Bar Association was established as an autonomous statutory entity to incorporate lawyers in Israel and to assure the standard and integrity of the legal profession. The NYBSA will adapt the website that it built for 9/11 to the needs of Israel Bar Association to facilitate the provision of pro-bono advice on rights from lawyers with a specialty in this field.

NGOs in Frontline Municipalities or Regional Councils

Jewish Federations are providing grants to 39 local non-governmental organizations in frontline communities to help these communities meet the deep immediate challenges of attending to the immense needs of their populations while rebuilding infrastructure and restoring the sense of security, community, and routine.

Nirim Foundation

Nirim operates a nationwide educational-therapeutic program that, every year, gives hundreds of high-risk youth another opportunity, sometimes their last, to return to Israeli society as citizens who contribute to themselves, their families, and the country. Nirim runs a Youth Village – a residential setting for 120 extreme-risk teens; and “Nirim in the Neighborhoods” – a community-based program that works with at-risk youth in underserved populations throughout Israel. Jewish Federations are supporting the evacuation of the residents from the youth village and extra home visits to youth-at-risk in communities under threat in northern and southern Israel.  Nirim  also provides youth at risk activities and support to evacuee youth in northern Israel and Eilat.

Additional funding will support programming for youth-at-risk in a variety of ways, including the  "Nirim in the Neighborhoods" initiative in several northern locations, to support youth among evacuees from the north living in Tiberius and Haifa, and after school programming at the new Nirim Nitzan Libstein school opening September 2024 at the Sha'ar HaNegev education complex.

Nitzan Association

Nitzan diagnoses learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders, working with children, parents, and educators to help affected children realize their potential, overcome difficulties, and cope with learning, social, and emotional challenges. Nitzan will provide remedial teaching focused on language gaps which have expanded during the war and will run "B-Friendly" social-emotional group workshops. The activities will impact more than 500 evacuated schoolchildren from the north.

Ogen: Free Loan Fund

Ogen https://www.ogen.org/en/, formerly known as the Israel Free Loan Association, has been attracting philanthropic capital and banking support since 1990 and has made over 80,000 loans providing over $500 million during that time. They have pre-existing relationships with several large Israeli banks. Leveraging its 30+ years of experience serving highly vulnerable businesses (“bottom one-third of the economy”) across Israel, Ogen is establishing a new low-cost loan program of up to $200 million in available leveraged capital to serve small businesses impacted by the war.

Ohr Torah Stone

Ohr Torah Stone is a network of 32 educational institutions, social projects, outreach programs, and leadership initiatives to educate and prepare the next generation to strengthen society, perfect the world, and serve as a light unto the nations. Ohr Torah Stone has opened the doors of their retreat center to evacuees from southern Israel and are providing all their basic needs for an indefinite stay as the war continues, in addition to providing day activities for the children.  

Olim Beyahad

Olim Beyahad works to change Israeli society’s stereotypes and misconceptions about Ethiopian Israelis and facilitate their integration into all facets of society via high-quality employment integration, excellence in education, and in-depth media interventions. Olim Beyahad will use its extensive network and credibility as a leading Ethiopian Israeli organization to organize a clinical mental health initiative in partnership with Wuste Tzega, the Center for Culturally Adapted Psychotherapy. They will provide culturally sensitive therapy, including in the Amharic language, to families affected by the war.

Olei – The Union of Olim from Latin America, Spain, and Portugal

Olei is an olim (immigrant) association with twenty branches across Israel. It aids immigrants from Latin America, Spain and Portugal with Aliyah (immigration) and klita (absorption). Olei is providing a range of support services in Spanish and Portuguese for Latin American olim who have been affected by the war (including elderly, recent arrivals, jobseekers, and Lone Soldiers).

One Day Social Volunteering

OneDay, founded in 2016, organizes community-service volunteering experiences, including work with the elderly, at-risk women and youth, people with special needs, families-in-need, and animal welfare. Research has proven that volunteering positively impacts resilience on several levels, contributing to an individual's ability to adapt and bounce back in the face of severe challenges or adversity. In response to October 7, OneDay is establishing a transformative volunteering project to uplift communities of the Western Negev and Northern Israel over at least two years, in partnership with the Ministry of Welfare and local authorities. The first year will include at least 550 volunteering activities with 20 communities.

One Family Fund

One Family was born at the beginning of the Second Intifada with the sole goal of helping victims of terror in Israel. With a geographic spread all over Israel, One Family Fund has nine different divisions supporting different subgroups of bereaved families and their needs. The mission of One Family’s Youth Division is to create a supportive environment where children and young people who have lost a family member or have been wounded in terrorist attacks can heal and grow. The allocation would support the Big Brother/Sister initiative for children aged 8-18.

Organization for Israel’s Terror Victims

The Organization for Israel's Terror Victims is the Representative Organization that supports thousands of family members, widows, orphans, and disabled people who are recognized by the State of Israel as terror victims. Jewish Federation funding allowed the Maatefet (support) program for families of orphans and widows from October 7 to assign a professional support person to 100 families for three months to provide broad logistical support, administrative assistance, and emotional support during the challenging initial months.

OR Movement

The OR (Light) Movement aims to bring the Negev and Galilee to their full inherent potential in terms of population, social structure, economy, and infrastructure and to turn them into thriving centers of population, and catalysts for national growth. They will prepare four 24/7 regional operation rooms (Carmiel, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Beer Sheva) to conduct training of volunteers. During an escalation, the operations rooms will complement the activities of local volunteer civil situation rooms.

Or LaMishpachot

Or LaMishpachot is an organization which helps families of fallen IDF soldiers. Irit and Shlomo Oren, both retired generals, founded and have run the organization for more than a decade as volunteers. They guide bereaved families with a mission of helping them continue forward in life, with light, joy, and creativity. Federation dollars will support cultural and leisure activities, projects with volunteer youth, and support between families.

Orr Shalom      

Orr Shalom is Israel’s largest provider for children in Out-of-Home Care, serving children at-risk who have been removed from their homes by the welfare authorities due to severe abuse and neglect, including children with mental and physical disabilities. With the assistance of Jewish Federations, Orr Shalom will provide extra support to the children living in group homes in areas under fire and to graduates who have been affected by the emergency.

Osim Shechuna                

Osim Shechuna empowers youth, building communities and developing local leadership within troubled neighborhoods in Israel. Osim has rapidly built a network of partnerships to facilitate volunteers to rapidly make thousands of neglected communal bomb shelters in northern Israel habitable. Osim Shechuna is expanding their activities to more geographic areas in the south and center of Israel that are at risk of continued or new rocket attacks.

OTI – The Israeli Autism Association

OTI – The Israeli Autism Association is a leading Israeli organization dedicated to providing professional support to families and individuals affected by autism. Their mission is to empower individuals with autism to reach their full potential and lead fulfilling lives. Oti is operating a special education system for evacuee children and teens with special needs in Eilat in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.

Otot

Matching funds for trauma treatment initiative for young adult survivors of October 7, in partnership with National Insurance Funds and Bar Ilan University School of Social Work. The model utilizes a group-based approach that involves a significant other (parent, partner, friend) as a critical part of the therapeutic process. This approach is particularly valuable in the context of current events, offering community-based treatment for community trauma and addressing also to the trauma experienced by those close to the survivors

OU Israel

OU Israel is the Orthodox Union’s branch in Israel, established to promote the unity of the Jewish people by celebrating the common Jewish experience to positively impact Israeli society, strengthen its next generation, absorb new immigrants, and empower Israel’s periphery. During the war, OU Israel has created a variety of responses, including providing relief efforts for evacuees in 15 hotels in Jerusalem, operating the “chaverim makshivim” crisis hotline for religious youth and families, supporting the OU Israel Youth Centers from Sderot and Kiryat Shmona which are evacuated, and planning Shabbaton experiences in Jerusalem for OU Israel evacuated youth-at-risk.

Our Brothers

Our Brothers is a grassroots organization started by bereaved siblings for bereaved siblings. The chair of the organization is Eliyasaf Peretz, who lost two brothers, sons of Miriam Peretz. The organization serves bereaved siblings due to terror attacks, service in the security forces. The government today supports bereaved siblings only until age 18 and does not recognize adult bereaved siblings. Our Brothers founded a community which provides a network of support and despite being a relatively new organization, has reached more than 3,000 bereaved siblings since its founding. There are at least 5,000 newly bereaved siblings since October 7th. The organization is expected to expand its activities drastically to all areas of Israel, especially through partnerships with local authorities. Federation support will enable the organization to increase their capacity and ability to reach their target audience and convene them for therapeutic and social events.

OU Israel

OU Israel runs teen centers across Israel reaching youth-at-risk, including from highly impacted geographies. Federation support will enable the organization to employ two full-time social workers (one north and one south) and to employ additional youth advisors to staff the increased needs.

Paamonim

Paamonim seeks to ease financial hardships stemming from a lack of financial literacy and basic money management skills. Since the war, they have provided assistance to specific populations most affected by the war. Beginning in the south, support will be expanded to provide financial recovery assistance for non-evacuated residents of Israel’s north in need, including professional financial advice and small grants for families as well as for reserve soldiers in need, including professional financial advice and small grants for families.

Partners of Fallen IDF Soldiers/GFIDF

While married spouses of fallen soldiers receive support from the IDF and the National Insurance Institute, unmarried partners have no official legal status and therefore can be left without the support they need after the death of their loved ones. GFIDF supports the partners (boyfriends, girlfriends, significant others) of fallen IDF soldiers from the moment their loved ones are killed, providing them tailored therapeutic assistance and emotional support as they navigate the challenging journey ahead of them.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel/ASSAF

Physicians for Human Rights Israel is an Israeli non-profit organization that promotes the right to health for all people living under Israel’s responsibility. ASSAF – Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel provides support and assistance to refugees, driven by a deep-rooted belief in the historical responsibility of Israeli society toward those seeking refuge. The two organizations will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to vulnerable refugees who have been affected by the war, particularly those who have lost their jobs.

Pitchon-Lev

Pitchon Lev is one of Israel's largest humanitarian organizations, established as a national humanitarian organization focused on breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty in Israel. Pitchon-Lev directly assists over 200,000 individuals and families every year, distributing thousands of food parcels, clothes, home equipment, and much more to needy families on a weekly basis, regardless of their gender, religion, race or nationality. During the emergency Pitchon Lev has greatly expanded its humanitarian aid deliveries to meet the needs of the homebound and displaced.

Place-IL

Place-IL was established by Israeli high-tech executives (entrepreneurs, CEOs, development and technology leaders, multinational companies, investors and venture capital funds), with the aim of enabling large-scale yet high-quality recruitment of populations underrepresented in Israeli high-tech.  The model was developed based on an in-depth analysis of the needs and patterns used in high-tech companies in the recruitment and integration of juniors. The program is designed to solve three major barriers that prevent high-tech companies from recruiting candidates from underrepresented populations on a significant scale: (1) a scattered and unsystematic supply of candidates (coming from academia, training organizations and non-profit organizations); (2) the screening and recruitment methods of the companies that miss the potential inherent in candidates from underrepresented populations; (3) A minority of junior positions - intended for candidates without any work experience in high-tech. Place-IL has proposed an effort to create local employment opportunities for the residents of the Western Negev including both Jews and Arabs, in high-tech companies, without requiring them to make a daily trip to the center of the country. They have secured funds from the government, tech partners and foundations.

Project Kesher Israel (PKI)

Project Kesher Israel (PKI) has been operating in Israel for 15 years and has created a coalition of groups dedicated to the needs of Russian-speaking women in Israel. Since the escalation of the war in Ukraine, PKI has been providing support to 1,500 women and children from Ukraine and Russia who have sought refuge in Israel. PKI will provide food parcels and cash cards for refugees who have lost their jobs, mental health support and first aid kits.

Rashi Foundation for Kiryat Shmona Education Department

Most of the population of the socioeconomically disadvantaged northern border city of Kiryat Shmona was evacuated from their homes in October 2023 to hundreds of hotels across Israel. No date has been set for their return. Due to trauma, uncertainty, and the prolonged war and displacement, the situation of the high school students has deteriorated. Some have given up on school, and choose not to attend classes at all, despite upcoming matriculation exams, which are vital to a student’s future. This grant will help Kiryat Shmona’s municipal education department hold "bootcamps" under boarding conditions that will allow the youth to prepare for the exams. The Rashi Foundation is working closely with the municipality in designing the program and is facilitating Jewish Federations' grant. Beyond study, students and teachers will have invaluable time face-to-face, and students showing emotional or social difficulties will be better identified and assisted.

Rashi Foundation Partnership with Tkuma Authority and UJA Federation of Toronto

Initiative to develop and execute a comprehensive review of children 0-6 years old, in the five regional councils of the Tkuma area to identify learning and emotional delays, and instead promote normative development and reduce emotional distress among children and primary caregivers.

ReGrow Israel

On October 7, Hamas terrorists targeted farm equipment and infrastructure as a means of striking at the Israeli economy and the identity of the Western Negev, whose farms supply three-quarters of Israel’s vegetables.  Funding by Jewish Federations through ReGrow Israel, an initiative of Volcani International Partnerships, is enabling these farming communities to replace the destroyed or looted agricultural equipment in time for the planting season, which begins in early April.  Farmers face a gap of $12.5 million between the cost of the equipment and the coverage of the government’s insurance fund.

Given the urgency, the Israel Emergency Response Committee is advancing the full $12.5 million to enable the farmers to purchase equipment immediately while inviting Federations and donors to join this effort.

Regional Council for Unrecognized Arab Villages

The Regional Council for Unrecognized Arab Villages in the Negev offers support to 300,000 members of the Bedouin community living in the southern Negev desert region of Israel. During the October 7 attack, many Bedouin villages suffered rocket attacks. With Jewish Federations’ support, they will set up a food assistance program and hire social workers to respond to the acute needs of families and children.

Reservist Wives’ Forum

Currently and in the aftermath of the war, reservist families face a range of long-term challenges—economic, employment-related, and emotional. Jewish Federation support will enable the expansion of a municipal initiative to meet the diverse needs of these families, with a focus on emotional support, community engagement, and employment assistance.

Retorno

Currently and in the aftermath of the war, reservist families face a range of long-term challenges—economic, employment-related, and emotional. Jewish Federation support will enable the expansion of a municipal initiative to meet the diverse needs of these families, with a focus on emotional support, community engagement, and employment assistance.

SAHI – Special Hessed Unit

Krembo Wings is a fully inclusive youth movement in Israel that brings together children and youth with and without disabilities for weekly social and educational activities. Since October 2023, the organization has been working to expand their activities to provide support to youth who need it most. With the support of Jewish Federations, Krembo Wings opened new branches and programs to serve the needs of evacuees in the north and south, and an additional allocation would enable this work to continue in the southern region over the next year.

SafeHeart

SafeHeart is an emergency mental health project founded after October 7 and operated by a network of psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, psychotherapists, and licensed clinical supervisors, who all have experience working with severe trauma and the field of psychedelic harm reduction. SafeHeart is focused on attending to the mental health needs of the survivors of the October 7 attacks on the music festivals, including Nova. SafeHeart provides full coverage for private treatments for survivors above and beyond the care provided by the government and is a partner of the Israel Trauma Coalition, which is referring cases in this category. Already 700 survivors are undergoing treatment, and the organization is prepared to accommodate up to 1,300 survivors.

Safe Place

Safe Place “Mekomot Shmurim” is dedicated to promoting accessibility and inclusion in the arts, through sensorily and cognitively accessible events for children and adults with autism, anxiety, and ADHD, by offering tailormade performances created with the help of therapeutic professionals. Safe Place is providing three performances and two activities for evacuee children and families in each of 10 different sites around Israel.

Safed Community Center

Safed is a city of 36,000 people with a very low socio-economic level and highly challenging geography for delivery of services in an emergency. The Safed Community Center, coordinating with the municipality, will place 15 containers filled with emergency equipment around the city which will be opened and distributed by local staff and volunteers in the event of a major emergency.

Sahar - Mental Health Support

The Elah Center initiative provides mental support to grandparents who have lost grandchildren, but who are not eligible for state funding, to enhance their emotional well-being, mitigate the development of cognitive and behavioral pathologies associated with PTSD, and facilitate a return to functional stability. Elah aims to reduce suffering and distress in the face of a loss which is in a sense a double loss: that of a grandchild and the fact that their grieving child will no longer be the same as he/she was before the loss.

Sapir College  

Sapir College, Israel's largest public college, is located just two miles from the Gaza border and provides high-quality, equitable, and accessible higher education in Israel's Southern periphery. Federation support will help the college build a Trauma-Resiliency Treatments and Basic Needs Fund to provide students and staff with critical trauma and resiliency treatments to regain the capacity to function and provide grants to cover urgent basic needs for over 1,000 students. Additionally, an important part of the College’s vision is the advancement of the Bedouin Arab population of the Negev. Jewish Federations will enable Bedouin students to access the technology necessary to participate in a dedicated pre-academic program.

Schechter Institute

Schechter was founded 39 years ago to offer a fresh alternative for Israel: meaningful Jewish education in an open, pluralistic environment. Their response to the war is reflected in their regular work, including strengthening rabbinic presence in local communities, a national hotline for spiritual care, support for recent Ukrainian and Russian olim, and updated resource kids and activities for the TALI Educational Fund, a network of 80 schools and 1000 kindergartens throughout Israel.

Selah

Selah, a member of the Israel Trauma Coalition, provides immediate, urgent, emotional, and practical assistance to new immigrants who have experienced the harshest tragedies, acute crises and lack resources to cope.  Selah is providing immediate, urgent direct emotional and practical aid to grieving new immigrant families who have lost their loved ones during the war, wounded new immigrants and their families and new immigrants who are re-living traumas. Selah also organizes support groups for traumatized immigrants.

Shahaf Foundation

The Shahaf Foundation was established in 2010 as a philanthropic partnership to advance and empower the geo-social periphery of Israel and convert the neighborhoods and towns there from vulnerable distress areas into strong, in-demand areas. During the current emergency, the Foundation, in cooperation with additional philanthropists, are advancing a large-scale plan intended to develop deep resilience by assisting the local authorities in coping with the evacuee population and with the inhabitants in communities that had not been evacuated. This allocation will allow continued funding for the Kiryat Shmona project which Jewish Federations supported over the last months to help residents who were evacuated to over 200 different hotels from Eilat to Tiberius.

The Shahaf Foundation is expanding its project to Kiryat Shmona (population 24,000), which was the last community to be evacuated, leading to its residents being chaotically split among 120 hotels across Israel. Weaker government and civil society responses in northern Israel are further reducing trust of the residents in the authorities.

Support for activities for Nova survivors and their families: In cooperation with the Ministry of Welfare, this initiative will support social services departments in local authorities in northern communities to develop collaborative strategic plans for community rehabilitation and resilience enhancement, customized to each location. This effort is an extension of the intensive work the Shahaf Foundation has done in Ashkelon and Kiryat Shmona to maintain the strong connection between the local government and citizens.

Shalom Hartman Institute

The Shalom Hartman Institute is a leading center of Jewish thought and education, serving Israel and North America. Their mission is to strengthen Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism; to enhance the Jewish and democratic character of Israel; and to ensure that Judaism is a compelling force for good in the 21st century. In response to the October 7 attack, the Institute has launched a new initiative through which graduates and students of the Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis provide spiritual support and guidance for evacuated communities.

Shavim

Shavim supports released reserved soldiers from the current war, the goal of decreasing the challenges of the soldiers while integrating them back into their daily lives, work, and routines. The program helps prevent PTSD and other mental challenges that might develop by bolstering the participants’ mental and physical resilience and that of their families. The program combines agricultural therapy with psychological treatment in the form of 1-2 sessions a week over the course of several months.

Serve Israel

Partnership initiative with The Jewish Agency for Israel and Mosaic United to offer opportunities for Jewish organizations, including Jewish Federations, Israel Educational Travel Alliance (IETA) affiliated members, and other partners, to support Israel and engage Jewish North Americans in meaningful volunteer experiences in Israel. Leveraging the IETA platform, Jewish Federations of North America will serve as the implementing partner for this community-wide initiative, and will work across the Federation system, IETA, and other partners to identify and select Serve Israel program providers. Jewish Federations of North America will then collaborate with these providers to develop their programs, utilizing expertise in Jewish service learning, Israel travel, and immersive educational experiences. The program will encompass two complimentary initiatives; one with the Jewish Agency for Israel for a 4-week program for 16-50 year olds; and a second via Mosaic United and multiple service providers, would be 7-10 day programs for 16-40 year olds.

Shalva

Shalva is a Jerusalem-based association for care and inclusion of people with disabilities, providing a range of services for people of all ages and backgrounds from recreation to employment training to independent living, plus family support. Shalva has taken in 100 evacuees from an institution for youth-at-risk and with Jewish Federations' support, will provide for all their needs during the stay.

Shamir Medical Center

Shamir Medical Center, south of Tel Aviv in Israel’s Central Region, is one of the largest public hospitals in Israel, with more than 800 beds. Shamir hosts The Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Research, the largest hyperbaric treatment center worldwide. The Center is a leader in pioneering research on novel indications of hyperbaric medicine for cognitive and physical rehabilitation and performance. Jewish Federations support will allow the Center to treat civilians suffering from PTSD using innovative hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Sheatufim/Zionism 2000

Sheatufim and Zionism 2000 are two infrastructure organizations that have brought real change in Israeli reality for many years. Through national system-building activities along with a variety of sectors and populations, they have led emergency initiatives on a national scale in times of strife and emergency. With Jewish Federations’ support, their new joint initiative Yeladanu will provide a comprehensive, immediate, and quality response to the diverse needs of children and youth living on our borders.

SheRise

This is a new collaboration, based on the strength of existing NGOs and related programs, to support the development of authentic grassroots women’s leadership across the Western Negev. The program was also developed in full consultation and will be run in collaboration with Eshkol Negev HaMaaravi – The Western Negev Cluster, which represents and coordinates across all the 11 municipalities of the South most effected by October 7th. This approach ensures municipal buy-in and allows the program to work in conjunction with community social workers and the state mandated women's status reps in each municipality. Based on four pillars, establishment of women’s leadership grassroots groups, professional guidance and skill building, cultivation of a peer network through regional gatherings and supporting program implementation, the program will engage estimated 330 project participants across 11 Regional Councils. 

Shishi Shabbat Yisraeli

Shishi Shabbat Yisraeli (Israeli Weekend) is a nationwide educational initiative for Russian-speaking Israelis aged 18-35. It aims to strengthen Jewish and Israeli identity, bolster Jewish unity, foster personal and intellectual growth, and develop talented young leadership. They provide a warm and supportive community for over 18,000 young Russian-speaking soldiers, students, and young professionals. To help recent olim (most of whom left Russia/Ukraine due to the war there) cope with the current emergency, Shishi Shabbat Yisraeli is running in person and virtual support groups, arranging for olim to do volunteer work, and running local therapeutic and creative gatherings and weekly Shabbat events that connect olim soldiers, new olim, and veteran olim to provide them with community at this difficult time.

Shoresh Fund

The Shoresh Fund's immediate aid fund was established to support the immediate needs of the families in the Gaza border region affected by the war. Shoresh Fund strives to provide an immediate solution and fill needs ASAP. It is in constant contact with communities (both evacuees and residents who chose to remain) to fill a range of immediate needs. Examples include generators, setting up a temporary dining hall, washing machines etc.

Simcha Layeled

Simcha Layeled is dedicated to improving the quality of life for thousands of disabled and seriously ill children in hospitals and rehabilitation centers throughout Israel. It emphasizes a personal connection with each child and the development of long-term relationships during hospital stays, rehabilitation, and into the future. With Jewish Federations support, Simcha Layeled is providing personal, emotional, and social support services to more than 300 children from affected regions in the north and south of Israel.

Shikma Educational Institute

The Shikma Educational Institution is an informal educational framework with a 70+ year presence in the Gaza Envelope area of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, particularly serving the kibbutzim Yad Mordechai, Zikim, and Karmia, as well as neighboring communities such as Netiv HaAsara and Gvaram. Before the war, 230 teens were enrolled in Shikma, which is now undergoing a renovation and revival to reach even more youth and continue to unite the region and grow the next generation of leaders. provide 40 need-based scholarships for youth directly affected by October 7; equipment and furnishings for the facilities; electronic security systems for the campus; and experiential personal and group resilience workshops for the teens.

Shuvu Achim

The Shuvu Achim pre-military academy was founded in 2014, following the brutal kidnapping and murder of three teenage boys, Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel. Among their special volunteer projects, they coordinate a special Passover package initiative to provide Kosher for Passover food to families. This year, many of the packages will be delivered to evacuees from norther communities who require additional help.

Social Delivery (Shinua Hevrati)                

Shinua Hevrati (Social Delivery) efficiently delivers humanitarian aid across Israel sourced from corporate donors and NGO partners. During the emergency, it became a key player in ensuring that humanitarian supplies are warehoused and delivered quickly and efficiently wherever needed. This allocation would support the return of Northern evacuees through a comprehensive logistics operation that will distribute high-quality surplus equipment and supplies from the business sector. Social Delivery's northern rehabilitation program aims to support communities affected by the October 7th war through a comprehensive logistics operation that will distribute at least $6.5M worth of high-quality surplus equipment and supplies from the business sector to vulnerable populations and institutions. The 9-month program, operating through a dedicated logistics center with hundreds of volunteers, will serve approximately 45,000 beneficiaries while emphasizing community resilience, sustainable practices, and the dignity of recipients, focusing particularly on non-evacuated communities and those returning home who need to rebuild both physically and emotionally.  

Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel

The Resilience Journeys are 4-day sleepaway camps for 35 high school students, which will take place in the heart of Israeli nature and will be organized through the formal school system. Participating teens will be immersed in the wilderness, away from distractions like screens, social media, and the news, and they will be able to focus on themselves and the experience. The goal for the coming 2024/5 academic year is to raise the funds required to launch this program and organize 80 Resilience Journeys for 2,800 students, with half of these living in areas most effected by the war, including the Gaza Periphery and Northern Communities, and whose cost will be fully born by the organization. The other forty schools will come across Israel and contribute 55% of the cost per camp from their budget designated for annual trips.

Sourasky Medical Center - Ichilov Hospital

Sourasky Medical Center, more commonly known as Ichilov Hospital, is a general hospital in Tel Aviv with more than 1,100 beds. Ichilov’s rehabilitation departments treat some of Israel’s most complex injuries, including many of the civilians and soldiers wounded since October 7. The hospital integrates innovative physical rehabilitation technologies with mental health support and PTSD treatment expertise. Jewish Federations support will allow Ichilov to purchase specialized rehabilitation equipment.  

SparkIL

SparkIL https://sparkil.org/ was originally built as a crowd-funding model to attract next generation investors to fund typically micro sized Israeli businesses with zero-cost loans. In the wake of the attack and war, the platform is raising ~$14 million of complementary “institutional” capital to expand its reach and impact, while maintaining the crowdfunding aspect of the model.

Stepping Stones

Stepping Stones provides resources for combat reservists without family or economic support through a group program focusing on promoting optimal educational and employment choices. Their holistic and precise program allows for the effective processing of war experiences in a way that promotes optimal educational and employment choices. The program combines group work and the creation of a cohesive and supportive group of 15 participants who reinforce each other during the program and for years afterward with tailored personal guidance. It includes direct exposure to various future environments (including visits to academic institutions, tech and industrial companies, public institutions, etc.) and the discovery of personal values, abilities, and interests. The program provides workshops, lectures, and discussions that help participants develop skills and knowledge alongside challenging and eye-opening field experiences. This funding would support 90 individuals in this program.

Summer Camps Israel

Summer Camps Israel serves a networking and umbrella organization that works to build the field of extended overnight summer camp in Israel supporting operators with capacity grants, subsidized fees, and a forum of learning and sharing of best practices. With Jewish Federations support, they will provide displaced young people with a 3-day winter camp experience.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers provides psychological support for orphans across Israel, aiding 750 families in 30 activity centers across Israel. To address the tragic increase of orphans due to October 7, Sunflowers must scale to support these new orphans. With Jewish Federation’s support, Sunflowers will open additional after school centers in the south to provide orphans with trauma reducing activities in a supportive environment.

Survivors of the Holocaust Emergency Fund (SHEF-IL)

Survivors of the Holocaust Emergency Fund (SHEF-IL) brings together philanthropy (led by the Seed the Dream Foundation and including Jewish Federations), local authorities and Israeli civil society organizations to ensure that the critical needs of Holocaust survivors in Israel are met. The initiative is being piloted in several cities in southern Israel. SHEF-IL will now expand its support to the evacuee communities in the Gaza border region and will also assist elderly residents (over 85) who are not Holocaust survivors.

Tamar

Tamar was founded by care workers from the Arab community with the goal of providing culturally accessible response services for the Bedouin and Arab communities. The organization specializes in developing innovative therapeutic, educational and community responses during routine times as well as times of crisis and war. Since the start of the emergency, Tamar has operated an Arabic mental health hotline, provided emotional support services and psychotherapy, distributed Arabic language materials, and conducted professional trauma training. A second round of funding enables a continuation of the important work, and an expansionto the north of Israel through an intervention program for immediate psychological assistance adapted and accessible culturally and in the Arabic language for the Bedouin society in the south and the Arab society in the north.

Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center

The Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center is Israel's first and largest center of its kind. It fields more than 12,000 crisis calls annually through its hotlines and provides clinical care and tailored programming for individuals and communities across the spectrum of Israeli society, including IDF and first responders. Since the October 7 attacks, the Center has received a surge of requests from survivors of sexual violence. Jewish Federations’ funding ensures that survivors receive the care they need as well as ensures that first responders receive critical training.  

Tel Hai College

Tel-Hai College is a growing leader of higher education and scientific inquiry in Israel’s northern Galilee. Tel-Hai has over 4,500 students and was recently approved to become the first university in Galilee, growing as the academic and economic anchor of the region. Tel-Hai's primary campus has been evacuated since the beginning of the war and most of its students are studying online or in alternative temporary campuses.Tel-Hai's primary campus has been evacuated since the beginning of the war and most of its students are studying online. Jewish Federation support will provide academic support (extra tutoring etc.) for evacuee and reservist students, allow adaption of social work and other practicum programs given the campus evacuation, and support technological infrastructure to enable remote learning. An additional grant from Jewish Federations would provide for in-person learning infrastructure in alternative sites in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Katzrin. The government is expected to continue subsidizing studies this year for first-year students.Th

Tel Hai Tech

Tel Hai Tech (a UIA company) is a small, independent college of 850 students that shares a campus with the Tel Hai Academic College. It is evacuated and unable to access the campus, among other challenges. Support includes remote learning/alternate spaces, academic and mental health support, and social programming.

Tene Briut         

Tene Briut is dedicated to advocating for and improving the health of Ethiopian Israelis. For some Ethiopian Israelis, absorption difficulties, communication barriers, and – in some cases – a different cultural understanding of health issues can result in low medical response rates, frustration, and even misdiagnosis. With Jewish Federations’ support, Tene Bruit has mobilized to provide mental health and emotional support via their Amharic hotline, mediation and translation services, distribution of emergency communications in Amharic, and specialized care for elderly Ethiopian-Israeli immigrants.

Thank Israeli Soldiers

Thank Israeli Soldiers created the Momentum program in 2008 for elite combat units and officers transitioning from the IDF to civilian life. Soldiers are helped to make that shift through educational and emotional empowerment tools. When Swords of Iron broke out, the IDF Manpower Division approached Momentum and requested they lead an intensive mental health initiative working with the IDF’s Division of Mental Health and the IDF’s Division of Behavioral Sciences. This initiative focuses on combat soldiers who have been exposed to the highest levels of violence and warfare as well as units who will need to come back together in order to complete future missions. It entails screening for PTSD while processing their experiences and building resilience.

The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo

The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo is a public college with approximately 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students in six schools, including the School of Behavioral Sciences, which comprises the largest and most comprehensive program in Israel for M.A. studies in psychology. The School of Behavioral Sciences houses the Mifrasim Institute for the Study and Teaching of Psychotherapy which specializes in capacity building of mental health professionals in a variety of therapeutic methods and around wide range of psychological conditions. The Mifrasim Institute has launched a dedicated skill and capacity-building program for one thousand therapists in two parallel and complementary training sessions focusing on Primary Mental Health Intervention for Severe Traumatic States and Treatment of Complex Traumatic Grief to increase the number of mental health professionals able to respond to this current moment.

The Day After

The Day After organization helps reservists return to their routines, families, and workplaces through group activities and direct mentoring. The organization works with the welfare departments of the local authorities, which fund part of the activities locally. The recommended allocation would cover a minimum of 500 reservists.

The Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Survivors        

The Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Survivors provides diverse programs and services to Holocaust survivors who require assistance and raise public awareness for their welfare. Jewish Federations are enabling the Foundation to provide survivors with food packages and “Emergency Safe Room Kits” that include emergency lighting, radios, and first aid kits.

The Haifa Association for Immigrants Absorption

The Haifa Association for Immigrants Absorption works with the Haifa municipality to assist, guide, and support all immigrants as well as refugees in the city of Haifa. Large numbers of Ukrainian and Russian immigrants have arrived in the city over the last two years. The Association is providing additional services to new olim (immigrants) who are facing additional challenges due to the ongoing war, as well as additional support for lone soldiers living in the city.

The Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ)  

The Israel Reform Movement continues to provide spiritual and community support for evacuated and frontline communities in the north. In addition, they have created materials and supported volunteers providing activities for evacuated families with young children during the summer months as well as activities for evacuated seniors.

The Jerusalem Civilian Command Center        

The Jerusalem Civilian Command Center is a coalition of four NGOs created for the emergency to coordinating an extensive volunteer effort to organize housing for families fleeing their homes, critical supplies for soldiers in the field, babysitters for essential workers, clothing and medical supplies, mental health counseling for victims of the war, and many other needs. Jewish Federations is supporting the provision of housing and humanitarian aid for evacuees and additional support for emergency operations.

The Koby Mandell Foundation

The Koby Mandell Foundation helps bereaved mothers, fathers, widows, orphans and siblings who have lost loved ones due to an act of terror and other tragedies to rebuild their lives and create meaning out of suffering. The Foundation runs camps for children and programs for women, couples, and families. The recommended allocation will support therapeutic Healing Retreats for bereaved mothers, fathers, couples, widows, adult siblings, adult orphans, and families.

The Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin

The Lone Soldier Center (LSC) was founded in 2009 by a group of former lone soldiers aware and concerned with the needs and struggles of the more than 7,000 lone soldiers serving in the IDF. While many lone soldiers are new immigrants or volunteers from abroad, 47% of lone soldiers are native-born Israelis. These Israeli lone soldiers often come from complicated domestic situations or are estranged from their families, sometimes because of their decision to serve in the IDF. The LSC provides housing options, community building, counseling and guidance, and addresses a wide variety of requests for assistance for soldiers in their regular service and for reservists. Jewish Federations will help the LSC expand their housing assistance options for lone soldiers in need because of the war.

The Masorti Movement              

The Masorti Movement is an indigenous effort by Israelis for Israelis to create a pluralistic, egalitarian, inclusive approach to living a Jewish life in Israel. The Masorti movement is housing and supporting hundreds of evacuees at its member communities Hannaton and Ketura, as well as providing support to evacuees across the country. Movement staff are providing a range of pastoral services for the Masorti community in Israel and Conservative communities abroad.

Also, the Masorti movement is organizing a daily pluralistic prayer circle at Hostage Square for the families of hostages. The prayer circles are led by participants from all sectors of Israel (Masorti, Reform, Orthodox, humanistic, religious and secular kibbutz movements and more). This is an opportunity to support a public message on the importance of pluralism in Israel at a sensitive time and location. In addition, the Masorti movement is sending care packages to released IDF reservists who are graduates of the NOAM Youth Movement.

The National Israeli Society for Children and Adults with Autism (ALUT)

ALUT is the leading organization in Israel for diagnosis, treatment, representation, and research in the field of Autism. ALUT’s activities focus on three main areas: establishing, operating, and developing services for children and adults with autism and their families; advocating and promoting the rights of children and adults with autism and their families, and promoting new research on autism. During the emergency, ALUT is supporting autistic kindergartners from the Gaza border area who were evacuated to the Dead Sea; training therapists, professionals, and service providers on autism and trauma; and enhancing the resilience of high-functioning young adults on the autism spectrum.

The Public Forum

The Public Forum was established to advance boarding school frameworks in Israel. It includes youth villages and Israel's welfare and foster boarding schools. During routine times, the Forum works to provide the optimal response for about 50,000 youth and graduates of youth villages and boarding schools, some of whom do not have any family support. The Forum will provide a small amount of financial support to 1,500 young people who have both been affected by the conflict and do not have any family support.

The Shitim Institute      

The Shitim Institute aims to preserve - and rejuvenate - the celebration of the Jewish holidays and culture in ways that are meaningful and relevant to Jews from all walks of life. The Institute will develop and provide pluralistic content for funerals, and materials to help build resilience in schools and kibbutzim.

Tikkun (HaMachanot HaOlim)

Tikkun – A Center for Gathering, Education and Social Change, builds mission-driven groups of educators and establishes educational and community initiatives in Israel’s socio-geographical periphery. Tikkun is led by graduates of the HaMahanot HaOlim youth movement. Each year, over 25,000 children, youth and adults participate in Tikkun programs. Tikkun is providing programming for evacuee youth in hotels across the country and in lesser-known locations where other providers are less prevalent, such as Gidona, Raanana, Nof HaGalil, Haifa, Tiberias, etc.

TOM - Tikkun Olam Makers  

TOM - Tikkun Olam Makers - is an Israeli-turned-global venture that creates and disseminates affordable solutions to neglected challenges of people living with disabilities, the elderly, and the poor. This emergency is creating an unprecedented number of wounded civilians and soldiers. TOM is deploying its unique capabilities to early-identify the needs of the wounded; develop a portfolio of online free solutions to help them; and support rehabilitation centers, care organizations and the wounded by delivering these solutions in a timely manner.

Tnufa Bakehila

Tnufa Bakehila rebuilds lives through urgent physical repairs to create safe and respectable living conditions for underprivileged families in Israel, who have been referred by municipal welfare services. These are often physically and mentally disabled people, new immigrants, elderly and Holocaust survivors, single parents, etc. Since the war, Tnufa Bakehila has been repairing and improving bomb shelters across Israel which need extensive professional service. This provides a sense of security and confidence for the residents who share these public and multifamily shelters.

Tribe of Nova Community

The Tribe of Nova is the nonprofit founded by the organizers of the Nova festival after October 7 with the goal of helping the survivors. The organization runs events and activities for survivors and their families and families of victims. The organization works in the areas of community resilience building, trauma relief, bereavement, and accessing rights via the Ministry of Welfare and the National Insurance Institute. The Tribe of Nova is now opening a physical home for its activities, and the Ministry of Welfare is providing social workers and special programs to help survivors return to their lives. Jewish Federations will provide programmatic support.

Tzafona Medical Center - Poriya

The brand-new Helmsley Rehabilitation Center at Tzafon Medical Center will provide state-of-the-art services to the residents of the north. Part of a joint initiative with the Ministry of Health and other key anchor institutions in the north, the need for a fully functioning rehabilitation center in northern Israel has only increased since the start of the war. The new center will add 162 rehabilitation beds in both a ward and day center. Three departments are scheduled to open in June. Professional development and leadership training will enable the hospital to recruit excellent professionals and their families to the north, which is the most significant challenge facing the hospital.

Tzofim (Hebrew Scouts Movement in Israel)

The Tzofim, Hebrew Scouts Movement in Israel, established in 1919, is the first and largest youth movement in Israel. Today, it operates through non-formal educational chapters for fourth through twelfth graders, both secular and religious. The movement has about 90,000 scouts in 241 chapters throughout Israel. With the help of Jewish Federations, the Tzofim did volunteer work in evacuation centers and hospitals and supported youth resilience and mental health for members in affected regions. An additional grant would continue support for affected youth, including a coordinator position, subsidization of summer camps, a young leadership course, equipment for activities, absorption of evacuees into branches, and a nationwide violence prevention program.

The Israel Boy & Girl Scouts Federation unites all six of the various Scouts organizations within Israel. It has brought forward emergency funding requests for the five smaller movements which serve Arab minorities. Jewish Federations’ support would provide capacity to serve the youth in the form of Organizational Resilience Coordinators, resilience activities, and training youth counselors. The funds would support 17,000 Arab Scouts (Muslim and Christian).

Druze Community Resilience Program:

Funding also supports expanding emotional support and resources for mental health professionals and integrating advanced technology for improved patient monitoring and emergency services, the program will enhance practitioners' resilience and overall mental healthcare.

Tzohar

Tzohar is a socially conscious Modern Orthodox organization working to secure an ethical, inclusive, and united Jewish society in Israel. It provides an array of Jewish lifecycle and religious services, cultivates rabbinic leadership, and influences public policy. In response to the war, and with the support of Jewish Federations, Tzohar's professional, compassionate rabbinic volunteers are providing comfort and guidance to bereaved families, funeral ceremonies and Shiva services, emotional support, and a hotline for halachic questions during wartime and mourning.

United Hatzalah              

United Hatzalah is a community-based volunteer emergency medical service (EMS) operating across Israel. It has mobilized all 7,000 of its volunteers and dispatched over 120 rescue vehicles to Israel's southern region. With the help of Jewish Federations, United Hatzalah will be able to purchase critical emergency medical supplies to respond to ongoing attacks.

University of Haifa

The Behavioral Neurobiology Lab in the Department of Occupational Therapy is conducting a study to improve treatment strategies for those suffering from PTSD, especially in patients with low rates of response to current treatment approaches.

Upper Galilee Leadership Academy

The Upper Galilee Leadership Academy was founded in 1998 with a spirit of democracy and pioneering and the mission of shaping identity and cultivating young leaders for the Jewish people and Israeli society. The Academy has five residential mechina programs through the Upper Galilee region with 280 current participants. The programs from Maayan Baruch, Amir, and Baram were evacuated from the Lebanon border to other kibbutzim further from the border (Afikim, Kinneret, and Beit Zera). The participants are continuing their programming and volunteering up to six hours a day with informal education, evacuees, elderly, and agriculture. Meanwhile more than 50% of the program staff are serving in reserves, including the CEO and VP. The Academy needs financial assistance to cover costs related to evacuation and war-time activities, including staffing, rent at the new facilities, and emotional support until July 2024.

The Villa

Shavim supports released reserved soldiers from the current war, the goal of decreasing the challenges of the soldiers while integrating them back into their daily lives, work, and routines. The program helps prevent PTSD and other mental challenges that might develop by bolstering the participants’ mental and physical resilience and that of their families. The program combines agricultural therapy with psychological treatment in the form of 1-2 sessions a week over the course of several months.

Western Negev Cluster

Initiative to develop regional capabilities, promote emotional wellbeing, and preventing and reducing mental illness and persistent mental health issues. The initiative will take place in 11 local authorities of the Negev, including those in the “Tkuma” region. The multi-year program will focus on professional capacity in the region, knowledge management and new tools/approaches into existing institutions within the region.

World ORT        

World ORT, a historic Jewish Federations partner, provides STEAM education to thousands of students in close partnership with schools/municipalities throughout Israel’s periphery. Jewish Federations will support mental health initiatives for students and teachers and will enable students who are displaced to maintain access to learning opportunities and essential technology.

Yad LaBanim

Yad LaBanim, established in 1949, is the representative organization for bereaved families from the IDF and security forces. It is supported annually by the Ministry of Defense and does not traditionally solicit private contributions. The organization is facing growing needs resulting from the deaths of more than 600 armed forces personnel since October 7. Specifically, new plans have been created to provide support to bereaved parents and siblings, especially younger ones. Yad LaBanim is working to help bereaved families through their loss while preserving their family units and continuing to live for the future.

Yad LaChinuch

Yadid LaChinuch will use its unique, award-winning model in which senior citizens volunteer in elementary schools among northern border evacuees across Israel in the next school year. Volunteers provide emotional, social and educational assistance to children in order to alleviate the daily reality and cope with their new routine.

Yad Sarah        

Since its inception in the winter of 1974, Yad Sarah has taken upon itself the challenge to provide comprehensive and supportive health services that allow individuals in need of care to remain at home and in their communities for as long as possible. The medical and rehabilitative equipment lending service allows everyone to take advantage of the best equipment available, without dependence on public medicine. The emergency call center provides around-the-clock supervision, so even the elderly and the sick can remain at home. The home hospital service makes it possible to replace hospitalization and rehabilitation in institutions with home care without compromising on the quality of treatment.

Yanabia              

Yanabia is an infrastructure organization that was founded and operates within the Bedouin society to narrow the gaps with Jewish society. Despite their proximity to Gaza, most Bedouin communities in southern Israel have zero or few shelters or safe rooms, which has led to multiple casualties in these areas. Yanabia is working to rapidly install 300 mobile safe rooms across the Bedouin communities.

Yedidim

Yedidim is a unique entity providing "non-medical first aid" that does not require professional knowledge on roads and in homes, 24 hours a day, except for Shabbat and holidays. This is made possible by 65,000 volunteers from all segments of Israeli society. In preparation for a major war, Yedidim will upgrade the organization’s digital management infrastructure to enable the effective management of the organization’s very large volunteer base during war.

Yedidut Toronto

Yedidut Toronto develops services for underprivileged populations in Israel since 2008. It has been active in the mental health field for 15 years, providing access to therapeutic services to 12,000+ children via a pool of 600 professionals. The proposed program "Building Resilience Through Municipalities" would provide emotional therapy to children in communities directly impacted by the war in partnership with local authorities and schools. Jewish Federations support would start the program in several local authorities in 2024-25 by matching funding by local authorities (chosen together with Jewish Federations). Yedidut Toronto will work to bring additional partners to expand the program to additional interested authorities and schools.

Yerucham Local Council

The Yerucham Local Council in southern Israel is a former development town that has seen growth in recent years due to transfer of many IDF bases to southern Israel in recent years. The city has taken in 150 families, including 180 children in a variety of hotels, apartments and rental units in its area. The local authority has requested assistance with the many extra expenditures related to hosting the evacuees, specifically around children and families. This has included special activities, ongoing after school programs, and other initiatives for children and adults.

Yozmot Atid

Women-owned small businesses are a crucial pillar in Israel’s social and economic fabric which is threatened due to the economic effects of the war in Gaza.  These women owners are especially vulnerable in times of war and social disruption – among them are many single mothers and families for whom the business is the main or sole source of income.  Yozmot Atid works to reduce socioeconomic gaps by leveraging the power of women, providing them with comprehensive support and training to start and grow their own businesses.  Thousands of women from all parts of Israeli society have benefited from training and support provided by the organization.  This emergency grant will assist 260 women micro-business owners manage through the crisis.

Zahal Disabled Veterans Fund (ZDVF) - Beit Halochem

Beit Halochem are the four physical centers of the IDF Wounded Veterans Organization, the official representative of Israelis wounded during their service. The purpose of the four centers of Beit Halochem is to provide for the veterans' physical and mental rehabilitation through various treatments and services. The centers are also a gathering and meeting place, providing resilience to families of wounded veterans. Jewish Federation support will be for  group therapy for wounded veterans and their families and to purchase new equipment.

Zaka    

ZAKA (the Hebrew acronym for Disaster Victim Identification) is Israel’s dominant non-governmental rescue and recovery organization, with over 3,000 volunteers. ZAKA has sole responsibility in Israel for dealing with incidents of unnatural death and works in close cooperation with all the emergency services and security forces. After the terrible terror attack, Zaka volunteers have been tending to the honor of the more than 1,200 deceased. Jewish Federations will help supply critical equipment and supplies to aid ZAKA to enable it to continue its difficult mission.